Close Call
by ShutUpAndPaddle
Summary: A series of events leads Zoe to make a brash decision, after a few 'close calls' and hopefully a decision she won't regret. Horatio can see the potential for a very happy future on the horizon.
1. Chapter 1

**Close Call**

**Chapter 1**

Zoë knocked on Horatio's office door and then entered when he called her in.

"Hey handsome, are you ready?" She asked sweetly as she slowly approached the desk. He stood up and gave her a warm smile and a nod. His eyes wandered down to her delectable body in her black trousers and black cardigan that she wore over a baby pink shirt. He then turned his computer off and pulled his jacket on as he continued to look at her. His smile widened when he realised that she'd taken her hair down from the messy bun she had it in most of the day. The bun had given her hair a natural curly look as her hair formed loose ringlets and fell down by her shoulders while the light bounced off, creating a bright shine.

"Can we pop by the shop on the way back, please?" Zoë asked softly as she placed her hand subconsciously over her stomach with a sweet smile as she tilted her head, causing the light to bounce off her eyes as well.

"Would you like some pregnancy tests?" Horatio asked as he glanced down at her hand and she nodded with a gentle smile while she bit her lip. He felt her calm, yet almost euphoric feeling emanate from her.

"I think I might actually be pregnant now, I've just noticed that I've put on a small amount of weight, look. It's all around my stomach too." She said softly as she pulled her shirt and cardigan up. She looked back up at him from her stomach and saw a secret smile appear across Horatio's face. He glanced down and put his sunglasses away in his pocket before he quickly walked around the desk and placed his warm hand over her stomach while he looked down at it. He saw that she did have a bump on her lower abdomen, and it wasn't fat when he felt it. "I mean, it could be wishful thinking, I know I've eaten a lot of bad things so it could just be me innocently putting weight on. But I've got a feeling." She smiled warmly as she looked up at him. '_I don't think that's just weight, that isn't fat. But I don't want to get her hopes up, she could just be a little boated, but I know what she means when she said she's got a good feeling about it._' He thought to himself as he looked back up into her eyes from her stomach. She couldn't help but smile brightly as she saw the blissful smile developing on his face, involuntarily. He lightly rubbed her abdomen as he moved closer and then wrapped his arms around her waist as he pulled her closer. They shared a few light kisses before their curiousness and excitement got the better of them and they could no longer wait to find out.

"Okay sweetheart, we'll go to the shop." He smiled softly and she nodded and then pulled her shirt back down as he stepped back and smiled back down at her stomach before looking to the floor. She smiled more as she tucked her shirt in and then sorted out her cardigan as she could now feel Horatio's happiness emanate from him.

"About 6 more tests?" He asked and she chuckled as he held his arm out for her to link arms with him. She linked her arm with his and walked out of the office.

"I'm also late for my period at the moment." She grinned more, as she looked down at the floor while he closed and locked his office door. Horatio looked back up at her and he could hear the tremendous amount of exhilaration in her voice. '_It'll crush her if she's not really pregnant.'_ He thought to himself as he smiled sweetly at her while they walked through the building and out.

"Don't get your hopes up too high sweetheart." Horatio said softly as they walked over to the car and she nodded with a set sweet smile.

"I know, I'm trying not to, but I've got a really good feeling about this. I've had some spotting, that can also be a sign of pregnancy." She smiled and Horatio nodded with a smile himself. He opened her door for her and then closed it after she was in and then hopped in himself. They quickly stopped off at the shop and picked up a pregnancy test of Zoë's choice and then drove home.

"I want to do this now, hurry up please." She grinned as she held the box in her hands tightly.

"Calm down sweetheart." He chuckled quietly with a smile as he reached over and placed his hand on her thigh.

"How can I calm down, I could be pregnant… a mini you could be in my tummy right this second!" She grinned at him and he smiled back at her and then rubbed her thigh. They arrived home and drove up onto the drive and Zoë quickly jumped out and ran up to the door and let herself in. Horatio was a little slower than her, but did rush as he himself couldn't wait to find out if she was pregnant or not.

"I'll be 2 seconds." She said as she dropped her handbag onto the side and rushed into the bathroom while Horatio closed the front door. '_She could be pregnant right now, she could be carrying our baby right this second, I can feel just how excited she is, I'm feeling just as excited I think!' _ He admitted to himself as he leant against the wall outside the bathroom as he fiddled with his sunglasses with a secret smile. '_I can't get my hopes up though, she may not be pregnant.'_ He thought to himself as he put his sunglasses away and then turned to the door as he heard her call him. "Come in Horatio." She said softly and he quickly walked in as she washed her hands. He looked down at the test on the side and felt butterflies in his stomach again as he swallowed, just hoping for it to be positive. "Give it a minute." She smiled and then dried her hands. She then gritted her teeth as she placed her hand over her stomach while she mildly frowned and looked down at the floor.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Horatio asked as he quickly moved closer and placed his hand over hers on her stomach while he placed his other hand on her upper back.

"Yeah, it was a cramp, perhaps I'm not pregnant? It felt like a period cramp, I've been getting them for the past two weeks though." She said as she looked up at him with a furrowed brow. She swallowed as she looked up at Horatio and placed her other hand on the side and looked up at him as she took a deep breath.

"You can get cramps when you're pregnant don't forget, don't rule it out sweetheart." Horatio said softly and Zoë nodded with a smile as he rubbed her abdomen lightly while he placed a light kiss on her temple.

"You're right." She smiled softly as she began to rub her stomach causing Horatio to stop and rub her back instead. She swallowed and bit her lip as she looked up at him, clearly nervous. "I really hope that I am pregnant." She said softly as she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around him as she lightly rubbed her cheek against his chest, feeling the soft cotton of his dark blue shirt.

"I hope so too." He said softly and continued to rub her back while his eyes were on the pregnancy test every second that passed. '_Please let it be positive, please.'_ Horatio thought to himself as he continued to rub her back. He could feel her heart beating against his chest as well as his in his own chest. '_She's just as nervous as I am.'_ He thought when he felt her rub her cheek against his chest more and knew she was getting more and more nervous each second. He glanced down at his watch and then reached over and picked the pregnancy test up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Zoë, it's been a minute." Horatio said with a beaming smile as he looked at the positive sign on the screen. He almost jumped for joy as the feeling of pure bliss and sheer happiness flooded every atom in his body. Zoë felt him tense and thought it was negative.

"Tell me what it is please?" She asked as she tightened her grip on his waist, she was unable to look in case it shattered her dreams like the last test. He felt that her breathing had picked up while she began to panic about it, really fearing that it wasn't positive.

"It's positive Zoë. The test is positive." Horatio said with a smile as he moved back when he felt her grip loosen. Her eyes widened as she looked up at him with a slightly slacked jaw.

"Really?!" She asked quickly and he nodded as he looked down at her and then showed her the positive sign. She nearly screamed as she jumped on the spot and looked back up at him with the most joyous expression he'd ever seen. "Oh my gosh! Horatio! I'm pregnant! I'm pregnant Horatio!" She squealed with excitement as she took the stick from him and looked at the screen more with wide eyes. She put it back on the side and hugged him again, this time tighter as she jumped again and bit her lip hard. "We're pregnant." She said and he heard the break in her voice just before she began to cry.

"It's okay sweetheart." He said softly as he began to rub her back while he felt his heart flutter in his chest as his stomach felt like it was doing summersaults also. He could even feel his hands trembling with sheer delight that boarded on delirium as he was so happy.

"They're really happy tears Horatio." She said as she pulled away and looked up at him while her tears fell rapidly from her joyous, bright eyes. He smiled down at her and then wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs and once dry, he placed a kiss on her lips. They could feel the smile on each other's lips as they kissed.

"I love you so much." She said softly and then kissed him again with their eyes closed.

"I love you too, the both of you." He said as a wider smile appeared across his face. She broke the kiss as she looked back down at the screen on the test again while Horatio quickly took that as an opportunity to place his hand over her lower abdomen to see if he could feel anything.

"Wow… I might be about 3 weeks. We did a test the week before last." She asked as she turned back to him and placed a hand on his chest.

"It could have been a false-negative sweetheart, I think you might be 4 weeks… maybe 5; you've definitely got a little bit of weight or baby around your abdomen." He smiled softly and she nodded. She placed it back on the side and then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. He felt her lip balm transfer onto his lips as he felt her tongue lightly move across his top lip briefly. Both of their hearts fluttered as they put everything they had into the smooch. Zoë pulled back and looked up and into his ecstatic eyes and bright smile.

"I'm going to ring Nathan and see if I can get him to make us an appointment with a good midwife as soon as possible." She smiled softly and Horatio nodded with a smile.

"Would you like to tell Joe first?" Horatio asked softly as he moved his hands to her sides and lightly rubbed her waist.

"I don't know, I ideally want a scan first." She said softly and Horatio nodded with a gentle smile.

"Okay sweetheart." He said softly as he looked down to her stomach again.

"Your baby is in there right this second." She grinned up at him as she rubbed her stomach and he couldn't help but smile. He kissed her once again and then let her go. "I'm going to ring Nathan." She said softly and Horatio nodded, he felt nearly speechless.

"Best Friday ever!" She grinned as she walked out as Horatio picked up the pregnancy test again and smiled. He dropped it in the bin and then walked out as Zoë leant on the island counter as she held the phone to her ear.

"Herbal tea?" He asked softly as he walked around her and lightly rubbed her back as he went.

"Please." She said softly as she listened to the dial tone and he nodded.

"Hey sweetie, it's Zoë." She said warmly as he picked up.

"Hey Zoe, everything okay?" He asked softly.

"Better than okay, I was wondering if you were free?" She asked softly.

"Depends on what you want me for." He said softly and she smiled as she watched Horatio make the tea and coffee.

"Well, we've just got a positive result on a pregnancy test! So I would love it if you could set us up with a good midwife that you think I might get along with asap? We're unsure how far along I am as I've actually got some weight around my stomach right now and we think that perhaps I'm further along than we think." She grinned excitedly as she watched Horatio stir the cups as she felt butterflies in her stomach.

"Congratulations to both of you! I have one in mind already, I'll call you back in a moment?" He asked softly.

"Sure, thank you Nathan!" She grinned brilliantly as they hung up. He ran back within 2 minutes.

"Hey" Zoë beamed as Horatio turned around and placed her tea in front of her.

"Hi Zoë, I've just spoken to Val, she's a fantastic midwife who has years of experience, I think you'll get on well with her. I've made you an appointment for tomorrow, is that okay?" Nathan asked warmly.

"That is absolutely brilliant, thank you!" She grinned.

"Okay, so is 9.30AM any good for you?" He asked softly.

"Yes, that is brilliant, thank you Nathan! There's also something else." She smiled as she smiled up at Horatio as he looked at Zoë curiously.

"Go on." Nathan said warmly.

"Well, as I've not met her before I was wondering if you could be there to introduce us? I mean, only if you have time of course and if you're allowed." Zoë asked quietly as she looked up at Horatio, hoping he'd be okay with it also. Horatio nodded at her with a smile, giving her his approval.

"Of course, would it be okay to give a basic background on you beforehand? It might be easier if she knows that you're not too comfortable with new people who are hospital based?" Nathan asked warmly.

"Sure, go ahead. Do what you think is best." Zoë said softly, trusting Nathan's judgement.

"Okay, see you then sweet, give Horatio my congratulations too." He said warmly.

"Will do, see you tomorrow." She squealed and then hung up with a brilliant smile. She jumped on the spot and grinned at Horatio.

"Nathan says congratulations and we have an appointment at 9.30AM tomorrow with a midwife named Val, he's also going to be there to introduce us." Zoë smiled. Horatio nodded with a smile and then walked around to her as she sat at the counter and pulled the mug closer to her as steam slowly rose. "All of that sex must have worked!" She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and began to very gently rub her abdomen. He placed his chin on her shoulder and thought about their baby in Zoë's tummy. "Can we go shopping please? I need to stock up on vitamins and things." She said softly and Horatio nodded.

"Certainly, shall we go after this?" Horatio asked softly and she nodded as she sipped her herbal tea.

"I'm getting rid of all the chocolate and stuff, can you make sure that I don't exceed 3 packets of crisps a week please?" She asked softly and he nodded with a small chuckle.

"You'll manage it sweetheart, but I'll keep an eye on it." Horatio said softly.

"Thank you because I don't even realise when I'm eating crisps sometimes." She said softly and he nodded as he pulled his coffee towards him. He sat down beside her just as she got up and picked up a pad and a pen.

"What do we need?" She asked softly as she pulled her tea back over to her again.

"Are you getting multi-vitamins again?" Horatio asked softly.

"Yeah, but I'm also going to get some folic acid tablets and other ones recommended." Zoë said softly as she wrote them down.

"We're running low on vegetables, and some fruit." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she wrote a selection down.

"I'm forgetting something." She said as she looked up at him.

"Carrots and lettuce." He said softly and she wrote them down.

"Thank you." She said as she began to write down a load of fruit.

"Can I eat edam?" She asked and Horatio nodded.

"It's just the unpasteurised soft cheeses." He said softly and she nodded and looked back to the pad.

"Have we got salmon?" She asked softly and then bit her lip.

"We could get some more." He said softly and she nodded.

"Chicken, beef and lamb?" She asked and Horatio nodded. "Beans?" She asked and Horatio nodded. "Bread?" She asked and he nodded once more.

"Is there anything you want?" She asked softly.

"I need some more razors, but that's it." He said softly and she nodded.

"I need more moisturiser and shampoo." She said softly.

"My boobs are going to get big again soon!" She grinned at him and he chuckled.

"Stretch mark city will be back, what worked wonders last time?" She asked him.

"Bio-oil and the moisturiser that you still have upstairs with vitamins in." He said softly and she nodded as she wrote the rest of the items down. "Would you like me to lay off the coffee? I know you won't want to drink it and it'll drive you crazy if I have it all the time." He asked softly.

"Erm, there's no need to cut it out altogether, perhaps we can get some decaffeinated stuff for me and you can carry on drinking the normal one?" She asked and he nodded.

"Hello super healthy shopping list." She smiled as she finished her herbal tea. Horatio picked up the list and then put it in his pocket.

"Has my bum got bigger?" She asked him as she stood and turned around and he shook his head as he looked down at her ass.

"The only difference is the small amount of weight you seem to have gathered on your stomach and I think that's your uterus, not fat." He said softly and she nodded with a smile.

"I can't believe I'm pregnant." She grinned at him as he got up and put their mugs away. She hugged him as he walked back over to her.

"It doesn't feel real yet." She said as she looked up at him.

"It will when we see the midwife tomorrow." He smiled and she nodded with an excited smile.

"Let's go handsome." She grinned and he then nodded and took hold of her hand. She pulled out her inhaler of her hand bag and put it in her pocket and walked out with him. They returned an hour and a half later and got going with their dinner.

"I already want chocolate." She said as she helped Horatio to cook.

"No chocolate, this will be done in 5 minutes anyway." He said softly and she nodded. She sat down with him and had a glass of water. They then relaxed on the sofa until 10.30PM and went upstairs for their showers. Horatio walked into the bedroom from the main bathroom and saw her standing in front of the full length mirror in her underwear.

"I am bigger now than I was with Maya at 5 weeks, aren't I? What if I'm more than 6 weeks? I mean, with all that sex on our Honeymoon, I wouldn't be surprised if we conceived then. I did take a couple of my pills late as we were out and doing stuff, but no more than a couple of hours late." She asked softly as she looked over to Horatio and lightly rubbed her stomach.

"I think you are bigger, yes, but you've eaten more lately than you did with Maya. Even if you'd taken them a couple of hours late, that wouldn't be enough to cause them not to work." Horatio said softly was he walked over to her and placed his hand over her hand on her stomach. She nodded and looked up at him in the mirror as his eyes dropped to her stomach with a wide smile plastered across his face.

"I wonder if we will have a girl, in our dreams they were girls." She smiled warmly.

"Perhaps" Horatio smiled too.

"Having had that dream, would you prefer girls over boys?" She asked softly as they walked over to the bed.

"I don't mind, as long as our baby is healthy, I don't have a specific preference." He said softly.

"Really? I would have thought that the dream would have made you want a girl more." She replied curiously as they both sat on the edge of the bed and then got in.

"Perhaps it has, but I can't say because we had two girls. We didn't have a boy, so I've nothing to compare girls to." He said softly and she nodded.

"I still want a boy and then a girl." She smiled and Horatio nodded as he wrapped his arms around her as she laid in the bed. "I'm going to hand in my notice on Monday." She said softly.

"If you do that it means you'd have to work for another two weeks, I'd rather just take you off work now and do it that way." Horatio replied as he pulled her top up and lightly rubbed her stomach.

"I would agree, I really would, but IAB will make it difficult if we did that. I have to be treated as any other person who works there." She said softly as she looked over to him and then rolled onto her side.

"I can deter them." Horatio said softly as he moved his hand over to her back and pulled her closer.

"It's just so much fuss though, if I do it the correct way, they can't complain. I'll make you a deal, we do it the correct way and I will wear a bulletproof vest at all times when out, I will not work with any chemicals that are a potential hazard to me or the baby, the boys can do all of that. I'll just be the one who connects things and interrogates for the time being. There is no harm in that." She said softly and Horatio sighed, but then agreed.

"Okay, but you must wear a bulletproof vest at all times, I don't want to hear that you've forgotten it or anything." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a smile as she raised a hand and ran it through his soft, floppy hair.

"Believe me, I think I'll be wearing two of them." Zoë said softly and he smiled at her, happy. "I wish Maya was here, she'd have a little brother or sister. I bet she'd love to have a little brother or sister." Zoë said softly, quietly as she looked down at the top of his chest.

"She's always with us sweetheart." Horatio said softly and Zoë nodded as she took a deep breath.

"We're not replacing her though." Zoë said as she looked up at Horatio with tears in her eyes.

"No, we're not replacing Maya at all, don't think like that sweetheart." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she tried to calm herself down, she knew she was winding herself up.

"What if she thinks we are though?" Zoë asked him as she furrowed her brow and placed her hands flat against his chest as he faced her.

"She won't, she's up there now looking down at us, excited to find out if she has a brother or sister. She will love him or her, Zoë. She's protecting us, sweetheart, she's our little angel and will always look over us." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she wiped her eyes to collect the nearly falling tears.

"Yeah, you're right." Zoë said softly and Horatio gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She exhaled and pulled herself even closer to Horatio. He could feel her breasts and stomach against him she was that close while her nose was less than an inch from him as she rested her head on his pillow.

"I'm scared Horatio." She admitted honestly and quietly as she closed her eyes and felt his strong arms tighten around her.

"There's no need to be scared sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he began to rub his nose against hers.

"There's every need to be scared, you are too, I know you are." She said quietly as she re-opened her eyes and looked into his.

"I promise you that everything will be okay. I promise you that no harm will come to you or our baby, I promise to protect you and our baby forever." He said softly and Zoë nodded and then swallowed as her eyes moved from his to his lips.

"You protected us as best you could last time though." She exhaled softly and brokenly.

"Zoë, listen to me, nothing bad is going to happen to our baby. We will have a happy, healthy baby in our arms in about 8 or 9 months now." Horatio said as he rubbed her back and she felt a flood of relief surge through her body as she believed him. She nodded and then kissed him.

"Goodnight handsome" she said softly as she moved away slightly to give him some room.

"Goodnight beautiful" he replied and then placed an amorous kiss on her lips. Zoë fell asleep in Horatio's arms quickly while he still lay awake, watching her sleep.

"_She's pregnant again, I can't believe it. She is right; I would love a daughter,_ _I'd love a son too, but since that dream, a daughter feels like it could be wonderful, another Zoë would be a dream come true.'_ He thought to himself. He then slowly fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

They woke up the next day at 8.30AM and got ready to go and see Nathan and the new midwife. They knew it was best to introduce Zoë to the midwife as soon as it was possible if there was any hope of her forming a steady friendship and trust between them.

They arrived at the hospital and then got out and walked over to the entrance and saw Nathan waiting there.

"Hey!" Zoë beamed as they walked over to him.

"Hey" he replied with a brilliant smile as he hugged Zoë and then shook Horatio's hand. "Come on, I'll show you the way." He said cheerfully as he turned while Horatio took another hold of Zoë's hand. "First of all, a big congratulations to you both." Nathan smiled at them as they walked through the hospital to meet with the midwife.

"Thank you Nathan." She grinned up at him just before they reached a desk.

"Zoë Caine, 9.30PM for Val." Nathan said as he flashed the receptionist his ID badge. She then nodded and gestured to the ajar door.

"She's lovely, really." Nathan said warmly as they walked over to the door. He gestured for them to enter but Zoë refused to enter first. "Trust me Zoë." He smiled warmly before he knocked and then entered first.

"Nathan, do come in my lovely." A woman's voice sounded and Nathan opened the door more and then smiled at the woman.

"Hi Val." Nathan smiled before he looked back and gestured for the both of them to enter with a reassuring smile. Horatio entered first and gently pulled Zoë in. Val stood up with an easy smile. Horatio gave her a smile and a nod as his eyes quickly moved up and down the elder woman, who was probably about 55 years old and studied her normal clothing. '_As she's in normal clothing, perhaps Zoë won't be afraid?'_ Horatio asked warmly as he glanced to Zoë who's eyes were on the floor as she moved closer to Horatio and then hugged his arm.

"Val, this is Horatio Caine, and this is Zoë Caine." Nathan said warmly as he gestured to each of them. "Horatio, Zoë, this is Val Heartly, I've known her since starting and she's fantastic at what she does, she's been a midwife all of her life." Nathan said warmly as he moved closer to Zoë when he could see that Zoë's free hand was beginning to tremble.

"Hi Zoë, Hi Horatio, it's lovely to meet you." Val said warmly as she stepped to the side of her desk and took a step forwards to reach out to Horatio. Horatio kindly shook her hand with a gentle smile as Zoë looked up and studied the woman briefly before she looked down at Horatio's hand and hers while they kindly shook hands. Zoë's eyes moved back up to Val as she bit her lip lightly and blinked a few times.

"It's lovely to see you Nathan." Val said warmly was she moved over to Nathan and gave him a hug. Val and Nathan wouldn't usually hug, but Nathan had had brief words with her before explaining the situation and knew that if Zoë saw him close with her, there'd be more of a chance that Zoë would accept Val. They broke from the hug and then smiled at each other. "I'm not going to hurt you Mrs Caine, but I understand that if you're not comfortable with me, then you are very welcome to say so and Nathan here will find you another midwife. I am not a doctor or a nurse, I am a midwife, it is my role to make sure you, baby and Horatio are well and I'm on hand to give you guidance." She said warmly and Zoë bit her lip harder as she looked at the midwife, trying to decipher her. Val moved forwards towards Zoë to shake her hand but Zoë quickly moved back as Nathan shook his head at Val when he realised that it wasn't going to work and that Val had got too close to Zoë before Zoë was even a little comfortable with her.

"Would you like Doctor Taylor to stay or would you both like your privacy?" She asked warmly.

"Nathan is staying." Zoë said as she lifted her head and looked from Val to Nathan.

"Horatio?" Nathan asked warmly and Horatio nodded. '_How else am I going to be able to get Zoë to stay in this room if Nathan isn't here?'_ Horatio thought to himself.

"Okay, very well. If you'd like to take a seat." Val said warmly as she stepped back and sat back down at her desk with a gentle smile.

"Try and calm down sweetheart, I promise you that she's not going to hurt you." Horatio said quietly as Zoë looked up at him. She pulled one of the chairs closer to the other chair and then sat as she looked at Horatio as he gave her a nod. She held his hand tightly as they sat together while Nathan leant against the wall. Zoë looked over to Nathan with a pleading expression.

"Would you like me over there with you too?" Nathan asked warmly and she nodded. Nathan walked over to them and pulled over the stool that was on wheels over and sat next to Zoë.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm just not all that great with new people in a hospital." Zoë apologised quietly as she looked up at Val.

"That's perfectly fine Mrs Caine, Nathan has given me a background." She said warmly and Zoë nodded.

"Are you going to ask about my previous pregnancy?" Zoë asked quietly as she looked back down and held Horatio's hand tightly as she took a deep breath.

"No, I've read your file and there is no need for a discussion on the matter." She said warmly and Zoë looked up at her and blinked a few times. It was clear that Zoë didn't want to discuss it at all, so Val knew to stay clear of the subject. "But there is one thing I will ask, if I may, Mrs Caine." Val said warmly as she sat forwards with a friendly expression and Zoë nodded as she looked up at Val and studied her green eyes with very light blonde hair that seemed almost grey. "As your records don't stretch further than your 25th birthday, have you had any pregnancies before that?" She asked warmly and Zoë shook her head.

"No, Maya was my first." She said as she looked down.

"Okay, thank you Mrs Caine, that's all I need to know." Val said warmly as she wrote a brief note while Zoë looked up at Horatio, needing a little more reassurance. He gave her a smile and a nod.

"Please call me Zoë?" Zoë asked quietly as she looked back to Val and Val nodded at her. Nathan could finally see them getting somewhere so sat back and let them get on with it. Horatio then gave Val a brief description as to why they were there, giving her information on the pregnancy test the day before. Val kept well away from the previous pregnancy as she knew it would upset Zoë as Nathan had said that Zoë was sensitive about that subject and she'd probably block Val out immediately. She got a background on both of the medical histories and their lifestyles before she did anything. Nathan took a backseat and allowed Horatio and Zoë to do the talking. Zoë also gave her dates with respect to her last period and any other information Val required.

"Are there any questions before I move on?" Val asked warmly.

"Yeah, are cramps normal? I've been getting some cramps for the past week." Zoë asked quietly as her eyes connected with Val's.

"They're normal, they're nothing to worry about, but I will take a feel of your belly in just a moment if that's okay with you." Val said warmly as she quickly wrote a little more down. "How are you feeling in yourself at the moment?" Val asked Zoë warmly and Zoë looked down and took a deep breath as she shook her head. Horatio looked over to her as she let go of his hand.

"I can't do this, I'm really sorry." Zoë said as she got up and walked out as she began to cry while she wiped her eyes. Horatio quickly got up.

"I'm really sorry, can you give us a few minutes?" Horatio asked and Val nodded at him with a gentle smile as she sat back. Horatio quickly walked after Zoë and stopped her in the hall to embrace her in a warm hug.

"You're doing so well, Zoë. I'm so proud of you." Horatio said reassuringly, confidently as he rubbed her back.

"I can't do it Horatio." She said quietly as she wiped her eyes and calmed herself down as Nathan walked out after them. He stood a few meters from them but let Horatio know that he was out there with them.

"You can't do what, sweetheart?" Horatio asked warmly as his heart began to pound. '_She's not ready, is she?'_ Horatio began to panic himself. '_What are we going to do?'_ Horatio questioned as he looked down into her eyes frantically and panicked as she looked up at him, seeing his worry.

"I can't just talk to someone I barely know about this stuff. I'm not good with telling people my true feelings, Horatio, you know that better than anyone. I can tell you what I'm really feeling and I can tell a select others about what I'm feeling, but someone I've just met, that's not me, Horatio. I can't talk to someone I don't trust." She said as she furrowed her eyebrows. Horatio exhaled steadily as he briefly closed his eyes. Zoë frowned up at him as he re-opened them. "Why are you so relieved about that?" Zoë questioned firmly.

"I thought you weren't ready for pregnancy." Horatio admitted as he raised a hand to her face to lightly cup her cheek as her frown eased and she nodded before she looked down at the floor. Horatio then exhaled as he tried to figure out what they were going to do. He then looked over to Nathan for help.

"Okay, Zoë, how about you talk with me but Val does all of the other stuff?" Nathan asked warmly.

"That won't make it easier, she'll still be in the room." Zoë said with a frown as she turned to him.

"How about we go back to my office after she's felt your abdomen?" Nathan asked and she thought about it.

"But I know she'll be reading your notes." Zoë argued.

"Just give it a go, for me, please?" Nathan asked warmly and Zoë exhaled. "Just until you're able to build up that friendship with her. Then you might be able to talk to her yourself?" Nathan asked warmly and she looked down while she thought about it. She nodded as she looked back up at him and he smiled warmly.

"Okay, can we go back in? I'll talk with Val." Nathan said warmly and Zoë nodded as she wiped her eyes one more time. She walked back in after Horatio and Nathan and sat back down as she looked at the floor while Nathan explained to Val what Zoë would like to do. Val agreed to it as she knew it was the only way she was going to get the information out of Zoë. Val then stood up with a gentle smile.

"Zoë, if I could ask you to stand on the scales please?" She asked warmly and Zoë slowly stood while she continued to hold Horatio's hand. Horatio then stood when he realised Zoë wanted him to go with her to the other side of the room. Zoë then let go of Horatio's hand when he stood beside the scales. Val approached but Zoë quickly jumped off and moved behind Horatio as she began to breathe rapidly.

"I'm sorry." Val apologised as she backed off and Nathan got up and walked over to them. Zoë calmed herself gently and then looked up at Horatio. Both Horatio and Nathan encouraged her to get back on the scales and stood either side of her. Nathan called her weight out to Val and then recorded her height, also calling the digits out to Val who wrote them down.

"You're a very healthy weight, Zoë." Val smiled warmly as she stood back up. "Okay Zoë, I'm going to have to feel your belly, is that okay? I promise I won't hurt you. Horatio can stand by your side, but Nathan will have to stand outside of the bed curtain, okay?" Val asked and Zoë swallowed as she looked at Val worriedly.

"I'll stand by your side Zoë, you're safe. I promise you." Horatio said warmly as he turned to her and lightly cupped her cheek. "Trust me, Zoë." Horatio said warmly and Zoë swallowed before she nodded and then looked over to Val.

"Well done." Nathan praised as Val gestured to the bed. Zoë and Horatio walked over to the bed while Nathan stepped back just as Val walked over and then drew the curtain across.

"Okay Zoë, if you could please pop up onto the bed and pull your top up and your trousers down a little?" Val asked warmly as she stood back and allowed Zoë to get onto the bed. She looked up at Horatio and he moved forwards and placed his hand on her shoulder while he gave her a reassuring smile and nod. Zoë then pulled her top up to her ribs and then pushed the front part of her jeans down before Val approached. "All I'm going to do is place my hands on your abdomen and feel around okay? It's not going to hurt." She said warmly and Zoë nodded as she put her head back and looked up at Horatio. She focused on him as he continued to give her a reassuring smile as he took hold of her hand while Val placed her hands on Zoë's abdomen. "Can you try and relax for me please, Zoë?" Val asked warmly when she couldn't feel anything as Zoë's stomach muscles had tensed hard. Zoë bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows at Horatio as she took a deep breath. He could see that she was about to cry again.

"It's okay sweetheart, I've got you." Horatio said as he reached over and placed his hand over Zoë's stomach. He gently rubbed her abdomen as he gave her a tentative smile and allowed her to completely focus on him. Her stomach muscles finally relaxed and he stepped back to allow Val to feel. She quickly felt Zoë's stomach muscles while Horatio kept her calm.

"Everything feels great, I'd like to get an ultrasound, if that's okay, please? I think you're just a little bit further than the dates you've given me. I want a dating scan." Val asked and Zoë nodded as she looked back to Val. Horatio saw a potential for a bond to form between the two of them as Val was going to show them their scan. He knew Zoë would be delighted with it. Val pulled over the machine and then smiled at Zoë.

"Is it okay if I perch on the side of the bed?" Val asked Zoë warmly and Zoë nodded as she tightened her grip on Horatio's hand and looked up at him.

"This is cold, I'm sorry." Val said softly before she applied the gel to Zoë's stomach. She then began to take scans of her uterus. "How long gone do you think you are?" She asked softly as she moved the device over her stomach and looked at the screen as Zoë and Horatio also looked, but they couldn't make it out at all.

"Erm, about 4 weeks, maybe 5, but we're not sure." Zoë said softly and Val nodded and realised that Zoë was at ease while she concentrated on the scan. Horatio had noticed that she'd released his hand a little more so she wasn't hurting him.

"Can you both see that small little white blobby circular structure?" She asked as she pointed to the screen and they nodded as their eyes intensified on the screen.

"That is your 6 week old baby." She smiled at them as she fiddled with the machine a little.

"6 weeks?" Zoe asked and she nodded with a warm smile.

"It looks like he or she is 6 weeks today. But that's a rough estimate." Val said softly and Zoë looked up at Horatio and grinned as she exhaled.

"Oh my gosh, we actually conceived the first time?" Zoë questioned as she looked up at Horatio and he smiled brightly as she looked back to the screen.

"But the pregnancy test was negative the other week." Zoë said as she looked at Val with a concerned expression.

"That can sometimes happen." Val said as she got a few screen shots. She then pulled the hand-held device from her stomach and wiped it.

"Why couldn't we hear the heartbeat? Is the baby okay?" Zoë questioned firmly.

"Baby is fine, sometimes the heartbeat isn't detectible at such an early stage, it's nothing to worry about." Val assured her and she nodded.

"Oh my gosh, it feels so real now!" Zoë grinned up at Horatio as Val began to wipe Zoë's stomach. She took hold of Horatio's hand and smiled up at him brightly, all of her fear seemed to have disappeared.

"Here is a print out." Val said as she handed it to Zoë with a kind smile.

"Where's the baby?" She asked Val and she got up and moved closer to Zoë, slowly.

"That little speck right there is your baby." Val said as she pointed to it and Zoe smiled brightly up at her.

"Come in Nathan!" She called excitedly while she pulled her top down and Nathan pulled the curtain back with a gentle smile. Nathan then looked up to see the secret smile on Horatio's face too, he could tell that Horatio was absolutely ecstatic. Val pushed the machine away as Zoë sat up and looked over to Nathan as he walked over to them. "Look!" Zoë beamed as she showed Nathan the picture and his smile widened more.

"I'm so happy for you both, see, there was nothing to worry about." Nathan smiled warmly and Zoë nodded with a gentle smile as she bit her lip and then handed the picture to Horatio with a smile as she got up, off the bed. Horatio studied the scan closely and felt an overwhelming warmth develop deep within his stomach before it spread to his entire body. She grinned as she took hold of Horatio's hand before they walked back over to the desk.

"How was that, Zoë?" Val asked warmly as she sat back behind her desk.

"Better than I had expected, thank you so much. I'm sorry for walking out earlier." Zoë said as she looked up at Val with a gentle expression before she looked back to Horatio as he held the scan in his hand and continued to look down at it.

"Okay, I've just got to get some blood from you and to get a urine sample and that's all I need to do with you for the time being, is that okay?" Val asked and Zoë nodded. Val quickly got up with the tray of items and took some blood from Zoë gently after taking her blood pressure. Zoë then provided a urine sample before they all sat back down again as Val then took both Horatio and Zoë through what was going to happen and what they should expect.

"Can Nathan be involved in everything?" Zoë asked quietly.

"If that's what you want, then of course." Val said warmly and Zoë nodded.

"I just want to know that he's up to date with everything in case something comes up and I want to talk with him." Zoë said quietly, already suspecting that the pregnancy wasn't going to be a smooth ride. Nathan gave her a gentle smile and nod. "When's my due date again?" Zoë asked softly as she looked back to Val.

"The 28th of September." Val replied warmly and Zoë nodded as she lightly bit her lip and looked over to Horatio who was still absorbed in the magical feel of looking at the first scan.

"But that seems like such a long time away." Zoë replied.

"Believe us sweet, that time will fly by." Nathan smiled warmly and she looked over to him and then nodded as she reached over and placed her hand on Horatio's thigh.

"Here is everything you need to know in booklet form, from healthy eating, to what to expect and what to look out for. Also things to avoid, but should you need to get hold of me, here's my number, you can ring up any time of the day or night and you'll be given advice either from me or someone else. If you particularly need to call me, then ask and you'll be patched through to me, that is usually only in emergencies though. I am here for emotional support as well as everything else, but I understand that you have Nathan and another doctor, Alexx, I believe who you will probably be more comfortable with for the time being." Val said softly as Zoë took the leaflets and booklets from her and put them in her handbag. Zoë looked up and gave her a gentle smile before she leaned over and looked at the scan again.

"It's my understanding that you work in a lab with hazardous chemicals?" Val asked warmly and both Horatio and Zoë looked up at her.

"Yes, but I won't be dealing with that side of work any longer, I'm putting in for leave when we return." Zoë said warmly and Val nodded contentedly.

"Okay, I'm happy to allow Nathan to carry out the rest of the check-up." She said warmly and Zoë nodded.

"Thank you." Zoë said with a gentle smile as she stood and smiled warmly at Val as she reached over the desk and shook her hand. Val smiled back as she stood and then shook Horatio's hand before shaking Nathan's.

"When can I have my next scan?" Zoë questioned.

"Usually around your 18th week." Val replied warmly.

"Can't I have one sooner, like around my 12 week as well? I'm willing to pay extra, I want to know everything is fine." Zoë said as she began to grow worried.

"If you'd like another scan at 12 weeks, that's okay." Val agreed as Nathan had filled her in on how neurotic Zoë can be. "I'll see you again in about 6 weeks, I'll send you another appointment." She said warmly and Zoë nodded with a gentle smile. Horatio thanked her also and then left with Zoë and Nathan.

"Oh my gosh, Horatio! 6 weeks!" Zoë beamed as she linked arms with him and followed Nathan up to his office where he let them in and gestured for them to take a seat while their plastered on smiles widened more.

"Right, now for the boring part." Nathan smiled warmly as he looked down at the notes that Val had given him. Zoë and Horatio looked up at him with smiles as Zoë nodded at him to give him the go ahead.

"So, how are you feeling in yourself, Zoë?" Nathan asked warmly.

"Really happy, so excited, so good but I'm a little scared and nervous. When I say that, I think I'm speaking for the both of us." Zoë replied and Nathan nodded with a nod as he wrote a few things down.

"That's perfectly normal. I suspect that you will get highly stressed at times and that you will black out, I don't suggest driving at all even if you feel only the tiniest amount of stress." He said softly and she nodded with a gentle expression. "Are you taking supplements?" Nathan asked warmly.

"Yeah, I take really good multi-vitamins and some folic acid. I've been taking a low dose for the past two months, but I've stepped it up now to the recommended dosage.

"Have you had any nausea yet?" He asked softly and she shook her head.

"Not quite yet, but isn't it the 6th week that it hits you if it does? I mean, I wasn't bad with Maya before, so I'm hoping it's the same again this time. In fact, it was only on rare occasions with Maya that I had nausea." She said softly and Nathan nodded with a contented smile as he wrote a little more down.

"Breast tenderness?" He asked as he looked back up at her and she shook her head.

"They've not really changed yet, I can definitely feel that they're about to become tender as they're feeling a little tingly though." Zoë said softly and Nathan nodded. "Can I have as many scans as I want?" Zoë questioned and Nathan pressed his lips together and lightly exhaled.

"I don't think it's possible to scan you as much as you want, but Val has agreed that we can have more scans than normal, but that's only because you're a private patient and are paying for it all, also because of your heart, Val wants to make sure that the baby's heart beat is good and that is detectible at week 12. We can't go overboard though, Zoë. I know you're going to worry and that's only natural, but you've got to believe the professionals when they say that things are fine." Nathan said tenderly.

"You say that as if you're all always right though, you're not. Remember that nurse that neglected to check Horatio's temperature when he was suffering from meningitis, what if that same neglect happens and our baby suffers because of it. I want to know that I can have the help when and if I need it." Zoë argued as she mildly frowned at him.

"I understand that Zoë, and we will be there for you when and if you want and need us to be. You know I'll always be there for you and Horatio. But what I'm saying is that you can't have a scan each week, which is probably what you want, isn't it?" Nathan asked and she frowned at him.

"Sweetheart, Nathan is right, a scan each week is too much and think about other's who need those slots? He's not being mean… he's not denying you of what you need. I know you want a scan each week, but that isn't possible, Zoë. We're not saying that to upset you either." Horatio said delicately so she didn't fly off the handle at Nathan.

"But what if–" Zoë began as she furrowed her brow and looked back to Nathan. They could both tell that she was extremely worried.

"Zoë, you've got nothing to worry about sweet. We will do everything we can for you, I promise you that. But there's a point where we simply can't do anymore. We will keep an eye on you and baby as closely as we can due to your medical conditions. We need to make sure that the pregnancy isn't putting you under too much mental strain, or physical. You may find that your pacemaker may have to be tweaked at a later date because of the change within your cardiovascular system. We also want to keep an eye on your hormone levels." Nathan said warmly and she nodded as she exhaled and placed her hand over Horatio's thigh.

"It's not really baby that is our concern, it's you, so that's why we're agreeing to these more frequent appointments. Val will keep an eye on your blood pressure, height, weight and will take regular bloods. So that's to be expected from her, she'll also want to feel your tummy when you see her too. You'll probably have some ECG's done too, but Val won't be performing those, someone from Martin's cardiologist team will be doing that." Nathan said warmly.

"What?" Zoë asked as fright fleeted across her facial expression.

"There's going to be a lot of new people involved with this pregnancy and you're going to have to trust us. I know that isn't easy for you, but you have Horatio by your side every step of the way, as well as me and Alexx if you need us." Nathan assured her kindly.

"Why do I need to have all of this? I mean, I'm really happy to know that I'll be getting more check-ups, but… new doctors and stuff, it's going to be difficult." Zoë questioned.

"Because we need to keep an eye on you and baby as you're in the category at risk, it's not a large risk, but there is a risk there. Zoë, I promise you that we'll do everything we can. You will be okay. It's all precautionary, so we can intervene quickly if needed. But I don't think that there will be any need for that at all." Nathan assured her and Zoë took a deep breath as she nodded and calmed herself down as she felt Horatio place his hand over Zoë's on his thigh. She looked up at him and then nodded.

"Why do you want to do lots of blood tests?" Zoë asked as she bit her lip and looked over to Nathan.

"We want to keep an eye on the hormone level in your blood stream. Yours can differ slightly to what I would expect to see in other patients, this is due to the poison, it's the reason why you can get exceptionally stressed and why you can snap easily." He said softly.

"You've not told me that before." Zoë said as she lowered her eyebrows and sat forwards.

"Have I not?" He asked as he frowned deeply and both Horatio and Zoë shook their heads. "I have said that the poison altered the chemistry in your brain though, haven't I? I could have sworn I told you both, I _would _have told you both." He said softly.

"You have mentioned about the differing chemistry in the brain. Perhaps you have mentioned it but neither of us were listening particularly hard or because we were too busy worrying about something else. " Horatio said softly and Nathan nodded slowly.

"I'm terribly sorry, yes, you can have fluctuating hormone levels in your blood and more than likely more fluctuating hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain. Too much of a certain hormone could cause some difficulties, but it won't be anything serious. If for any reason you do have an exceptionally high or low level in your blood Val will treat it and will bring the levels down or up. Don't worry about that though. You'll probably have to have bloods taken on a fortnightly basis." He said softly and both Zoë and Horatio nodded.

"It won't harm the baby, will it?" Zoë asked and Nathan shook his head.

"As I say, it's not the baby we're particularly worried about, it's you and your heart." He said softly and Zoë nodded as she looked down at Horatio's hand over hers on his thigh.

"You need to keep a close eye on yourself, you may find that you get a little lightheaded and dizzy in the later pregnancy, it's nothing to worry about but tell Val and if it's happening very frequently, then you go straight to Val and she will have Martin down to take a look at you too. Everything you need is in those booklets, but I can give you more information if you want or you can talk with Val, she's probably the best person to call and talk to, okay? You'll probably find that you'll feel a little tired during the first trimester, it's the same as in any other pregnancy, try and take short 20 minute naps when you can if you feel you need it. I suggest that you immediately cut down on your exercise plan, don't cut exercise out completely though. By the time of your 10th week, I suggest you cut out anything like running, nothing strenuous. You might want to cut things like running out now if you're getting aches and pains. After your 10th week, I suggest that you both go for a daily 20 minute walk, don't take it too quickly though. Swimming is also good, so perhaps 2-3 times a week, up until 16 weeks, then just walk as your heart will be being put under more strain. I know Val has been through all of this with you, but I want to make sure that you fully understand everything, okay? Any other questions?" He asked softly. They thought about it all.

"What about sex, I know it's safe to do during pregnancy, but now we know I have a heart problem, is there any risk?" She asked softly as she looked at Nathan.

"There's little or no risk at the moment, there may be a little more of a risk when you're half-way through pregnancy, but we will let you know then whether it's safe for sex. I predict that it will be fine, but you'll both just have to be a little careful and less energetic if you're usually quite energetic. Your pacemaker will also deal with most scenarios, but it may have to be changed if it's not coping, that's when sex may become a problem. But as of now, gentle sex is fine. " He said softly and they nodded.

"I wouldn't say we're massively energetic." She said softly with a slight cheeky smile and Nathan nodded.

"You know what you can eat and things, don't you?" Nathan asked and they nodded.

"Nathan, we've been through all of this before, I we know what to expect up to the second trimester. You're the one that's asking me to stop worrying." Zoë said warmly with a gentle smile.

"I'm not worrying, I'm making sure you're clear with everything." Nathan smiled back himself and she lightly giggled and nodded.

"We're very clear, thank you sweetie." Zoë smiled warmly.

"I'd suggest you start eating more regular meals which are lighter, perhaps 4 or 5 meals a day rather than 3 large meals. Those leaflets will tell you that though." He said softly and Zoë nodded with a smile.

"Thank you Nathan, we know." She smiled and he nodded with a gentle smile.

"Anything else you want to ask while you're here? Horatio, anything you want to ask too?" He asked softly as he leant on the desk.

"Yeah, why am I so big for 6 weeks? I was this big when Maya was 8 or 9 weeks. Does Val really know all about Maya? I don't want to talk to her about that." She said as she looked at Nathan.

"Different pregnancies are always different. It's nothing to worry about sweet, you're probably just eating a lot more than what you did with Maya as she wasn't planned. Since you've been trying, I assume you've been eating healthily but more. Yes, Val does know about Maya, she's read your notes thoroughly so you don't have to go through the process of talking about that. She understands that it's a sensitive subject." He said softly and she nodded. "Anything else?" Nathan asked softly.

"I don't think so, I think we're both pretty happy with everything right now." She said softly as she looked over to Horatio and encouraged him to talk if he wanted to ask anything, but he remained silent as he nodded and Nathan nodded with a smile.

"I wanted to mention something to you both, if I may?" Nathan asked warmly and they nodded.

"I have a sister, she specialises in Paediatrics, I was wondering if you'd like it if I would introduce you to her to get you used to her before you give birth? She's a wonderful person and an exceptional doctor. If I had children, they'd see her." Nathan said warmly and they both nodded.

"Please." Zoë said softly and Nathan nodded with a smile.

"If you want to ask anything give me a call I'll be happy to answer anything you want, but as I say, Val is there for your primary care, I'm there just in case. I am not the lead in this case, okay?" Nathan said softly and they nodded.

"Thank you sweetie!" She grinned as they all got up. She hugged Nathan and gave his cheek a quick kiss and then stepped back to allow Horatio to shake his hand. "We'll see you soon, thank you again." She smiled as they walked out, he gave them a nod and then closed his door after they had left.

"I'm 6 weeks, Horatio! This is amazing! This is even better than I was expecting!" She grinned and he agreed as he put his arm around her lower back with a grin himself.

"Would you like to go and see Joe now?" Horatio asked and she nodded excitedly.

"Please!" She squealed and he nodded with a chuckle. She pulled the scan photo back out of Horatio's pocket and looked down at it. "That's our little baby, our little bean." She grinned as she bit her lip and then looked up at Horatio who nodded and also looked back at the scan. They got into the car as Zoë put the photo away in her pocket and then drove over to Joe's house after Zoë texted him to let him know that they were going round. They both couldn't help but smile and feel warm, they felt truly happy and excited.

"Hey" he greeted them as he opened the front door.

"Hey Bunny." She smiled as she hugged him and then walked through to the kitchen as Horatio and Joe shook hands and kindly greeted each other. "Would you both like a drink? Coffee?" He asked softly, and Horatio nodded as he stood by Zoë as she sat at the island counter with a beaming smile.

"What would you like, Zoë?" He asked softly as he looked from Horatio's bright smile to Zoë's. '_Something tells me that they're very happy.'_ Joe thought to himself as a wide smile developed across his face as their smiles were infectious.

"Do you have orange juice?" She asked softly and he nodded. "I'll have that then please, thank you." She smiled and he poured her a glass as he made both himself and Horatio a coffee.

"What have you two been up to this morning then?" He asked as he made the coffee and then handed Horatio the mug as he smiled brightly at the both of them. But neither of them replied when they looked at each other with their cheerful smiles. "Through to the living room?" Joe asked softly and they nodded and then followed them through. Zoë sat next to Horatio on sofa while Joe sat a little further away but on the other side of Zoë. They turned to him and Joe studied Horatio as he smiled down at the floor, it was obvious he was trying to calm his happiness and excitement down while Zoë just beamed a full on megawatt smile, barely able to contain her excitement.

"We've had quite an exciting morning actually." She beamed as she glanced from Joe to Horatio, which caused Horatio to look up at her with his brilliant smile.

"Oh yeah?" Joe asked as he sat back and waited for the news.

"Do you want to put your coffee down for a moment?" She asked softly and he lowered his eyebrows and then put his coffee on the coffee table. He looked back up at her and saw the widest smile across her face and her eyes were the brightest he'd ever seen them. "I'm pregnant, we had our first scan this morning and I'm 6 weeks." She said excitedly and Joe's mouth fell open as his eyes widened. Both Horatio and Zoë watched his gaping mouth form into a wide smile as he gasped and beamed at the both of them just as much as they beamed at him. Horatio's smile grew again after he'd managed to tone it down to his secret smile, but he was grinning just as much as Zoë again.

"Congratulations, both of you!" He smiled excitedly as he raised his eyebrows. He felt over the moon for the both of them, it was clear that he was happy for the both of them. "Come here." He said as he gestured to Zoë and she got up and hugged him again after putting her glass of orange juice down. "I'm so happy for you both." He smiled and Zoë smiled and nodded as she sat back down. Joe then quickly shook Horatio's hand and sat back down before he picked up his coffee again. Zoë had got herself more excited when she saw how happy Joe was. "6 weeks?" He asked and Zoë nodded.

"Yeah, I'm 6 weeks today! We conceived on our first go!" She beamed as she picked her glass back up.

"You said you weren't pregnant just the other week though?" He asked a little confused as he mildly frowned.

"Yeah, the test was negative, but the one I took yesterday was positive, we've just had the scan and apparently I'm 6 weeks! It was a false-negative." She grinned happily as she bit her lip.

"I'm so happy for you both, when do you know if you're having a boy or a girl?" He asked softly as he looked down to her abdomen but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Usually around the 18th week." Zoë said softly and he nodded as he sipped his coffee.

"What gender do you want?" He asked softly, looking at the both of them as he relaxed back.

"I personally would like a boy first, then a girl." Zoë said softly and he nodded and then looked to Horatio.

"I really don't mind, but a girl would be lovely." Horatio said softly and Joe nodded as Zoë looked over to him with a grin. Something lit up inside when she heard his admittance.

"Who else knows at the moment?" Joe asked softly.

"Just you and Nathan at the moment, I know you wanted to be the second person to know, but I wanted the scan first and I needed Nathan there to introduce me to the midwife." She said softly and Joe nodded.

"When are you going to tell others?" He asked before he sipped his coffee again.

"Erm, we're probably going to tell Eric very soon, maybe today as well, and the staff will know because I'm finishing work in two weeks, but I ideally would like to tell them after the 16th week." She said softly and Joe nodded.

"What about Kaitlin?" Joe asked softly.

"I don't know." She said as she placed her hand on Horatio's thigh and looked up at him for a moment before looking back to Joe. "Please don't tell her, I want to tell her." She asked with pleading eyes.

"Of course I won't, I promise." He said softly and she nodded.

"I'd like to wait to tell her until my 16th week, but then everyone else is finding out sooner, so I'll probably tell her in a couple of weeks." Zoë said softly and Joe nodded. "You may tell Adam, but make sure you keep it to yourselves for the moment please?" She asked softly and he nodded.

"Of course darling" he smiled naturally. "If there's anything you guys need, then give me a call." He said softly and they gave him a nod with a smile.

"I think we're good for most things, but thank you Bunny." She smiled and he nodded. "How's work going?" She asked softly before she took a sip of orange juice.

"It's going really well thank you, it's a little stressful and things at times but that will happen with any CEO of any company." He said softly and Zoë nodded.

"It's not too stressful though, is it?" She asked and he shook his head.

"And since I've taken over, management seems to be working better and our finances seem to be in better shape." He smiled proudly.

"That's fantastic Joe, well done." She said genuinely happy for him.

"How about you both?" He asked softly.

"We're good thank you, Zoë will be leaving in two weeks and my hours will be cut down." Horatio said softly and Joe nodded as a mildly confused expression fleeted across his face.

"I understand why Zoë's leaving work, but may I ask why you're cutting your hours?" He asked softly as he looked at Horatio warmly.

"I feel safer with Horatio around." She said softly and Joe nodded with an understanding nod. "Anyway, we should be getting back to have some lunch soon." She said softly as she looked round to Horatio and he nodded before he finished his coffee.

"It's lovely to see you both again and with such wonderful news!" He smiled warmly at the both of them.

"It was lovely to see you too, I'll see you soon." She said softly and Joe nodded as they all got up and walked into the kitchen where Joe put the mugs and glass in the sink. "Have a wonderful day." She said softly as she hugged him and then kissed his cheek.

"You too, both… all 3 of you." He said softly and Zoë smiled sweetly at him as she bit her lip.

"See you soon." Joe said to Horatio as they shook hands and Horatio nodded with a smile. Joe closed the door after Horatio and Zoë walked out and got into their car.

XXXXXXXX

Wednesday morning arrived and Horatio moved closer to Zoë causing her to wake. An immediate small, tired smile appeared across her face when she felt his arms around her.

"How are you feeling this morning?" He asked very softly as he began to rub her back gently while they gazed into each other's tired eyes, but both had smiles on their faces.

"A little tired, and I need the loo... but I'm good. I've definitely not missed needing the loo more than normal." She said softly and Horatio nodded with a smile as he ran his fingers up the length of her spine. She exhaled lightly with a heavenly smile as she looked into Horatio's eyes and felt that magical feeling lift her again. "I still can't believe I'm pregnant again." She smiled as she wrapped her leg around Horatio's and then kissed him lovingly. Once they'd finished kissing and became slightly breathless from such passion they smiled at each other once more. "I will never forget the night we conceived him or her, it was unbelievably breath-taking, quite literally too." She said quietly and he smiled with a small chuckle.

"It really was." He smiled softly and she kissed him again before she pulled back when the urge to go to the loo increased.

"It's no good, I need the loo now." She said as she sat up and then climbed out of bed and stopped by the chest of draws when she felt an intense wave of nausea flow through her from her stomach up to her head. "I shouldn't have moved." She mumbled before she rushed into the bathroom and crouched in front of the loo and began to retch. Horatio quickly got up and crouched behind her and began to rub her back as he held her hair back.

"What would you like to eat sweetheart? I'll bring something up, it'll settle your stomach." Horatio said softly as he continued to soothe her.

"Erm, could I have some toast, but only with a smidge of butter and a banana, please?" She asked before she retched again.

"Coming right up sweetheart, are you okay here, or would you like me to stay for the moment?" Horatio asked softly as he moved his hand around her and began to lightly rub her stomach. He could feel her core muscles tensing a lot.

"I'm good thank you handsome." She said softly as she began to breathe deeply.

"Okay, shout if you want anything." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she felt bile rise to the back of her throat again but didn't vomit. He got up and rushed downstairs to get what she wanted. He rushed around the kitchen trying to prepare the toast as quickly as he could. She got up and used the loo for its rightful purpose when her bladder felt like it was going to explode. She then washed her hands just as another wave of nausea hit her and reduced her to her knees in front of the loo once more. She then moved to the side once she was finished dry-retching and rested her head back and closed her eyes. She raised her knees to her chest and then rubbed her face with both hands as she exhaled violently. She felt the tears prick at the corners of her eyes but pushed them back as she began to breathe deeply again to get her fluctuating emotions under control and calm.

"How are you feeling sweetheart?" Horatio asked as he walked in with a glass of water. She nodded as she swallowed and then took the glass from him. He crouched with her and studied her tired facial expression as he placed his hand on her thigh once she'd lowered her knees and placed her legs flat against the cold tiled flooring.

"I was never this bad with Maya, and certainly not so early in the pregnancy." She said softly and Horatio nodded with a light sigh. He felt bad for her having to go through such a thing, it was only the second day of nausea, but he could tell it was taking its toll on her, he was surprised at the severity of the nausea too. She sipped the glass slowly before she began to move. Horatio helped her up and walked with her into the bedroom and sat her on the bed and then placed the plate of virtually dry toast in her lap after he'd taken the glass from her and placed it on the side beside her. She looked up at him with a gentle and very appreciative smile as she took his hand and pulled him down to sit beside her. "Thank you handsome, this is perfect." She said softly and he picked up his coffee with a delicate expression.

"I'll ring in and we can take the day off, okay?" He asked softly.

"There really isn't any need for that, I'm good. Once I've eaten this I'm sure I'll feel much better." She replied as she shook her head and then took a small bite out of the toast. Horatio exhaled and furrowed his brow as he placed his hand on her thigh. "It's not just the sickness though, you're exhausted, Zoë." Horatio said softly, it was clear that he wanted her to rest, but Zoë is not one for resting.

"Just like every other pregnant woman, kitten." She said softly and Horatio looked up at her with a small smile as he tilted his head as she turned on the bed and placed her legs over his thighs with a gentle smile.

"Kitten?" He asked with a half-smile, she could see that he was amused by it.

"It just came out." She said softly with a shy smile.

"I never in a million years thought anyone would call me kitten." He smiled as he rubbed her lower legs with a boyish smile.

"I think it suits you actually, either that or tiger. I think you share many attributes with a tiger actually; the red-hair, the occasional temper, the elegance, the patience, the beauty." She smiled softly and then grinned when she saw his shy smile as he looked down while he delicately rubbed her legs. "You're my tiger." She grinned and he looked up at her with a more confident smile. She then bit her lip and grinned at him. "Say tummy again?" She asked as her eyes sparkled at him.

"Tummy" Horatio said softly and she giggled softly which caused a bigger smile to appear across Horatio's face. It always made her feel warm and fuzzy inside when she heard him say that word because it reminded her that his baby was in her belly.

"I love it." She smiled just as she finished the toast. He took her plate from her and balanced it on his thigh just as she picked up the banana after having another sip of water. She then looked over to Horatio with a mildly concerned expression. "They're going to realise soon enough, they're already asking questions as to why I haven't been to the crime scenes. Look at the size of me as well, it's not going to go unnoticed soon, I'm as big as I was when I was 9 weeks with Maya, this is one big baby… or I have loads of amniotic fluid I suppose." Zoë said softly as she peeled the banana.

"What have you been telling them?" Horatio asked softly while she took a bite of the fruit.

"Bad back." She said softly after she finished her mouthful. "Which isn't technically a lie." She said softly and Horatio nodded with a small smile.

"I've been saying the same thing." Horatio said softly and she sighed with relief.

"Great minds think alike." She smiled and Horatio nodded with a light chuckle. "You should get on with your shower, I'm good. Thank you handsome." She said softly and Horatio nodded with a warm smile.

"Give me a call if you need anything, okay?" Horatio asked softly and she nodded.

"I'm going straight for a shower after this anyway." She said softly and he nodded and then got up and kissed her forehead.

They arrived at work, both happy. Horatio went straight to his office, like usual while Zoë went to the locker room and relaxed for a little and had more water. She then got up and went to the loo before she walked into the break room just as shift started with a happy smile.

"You're quite late today." Walter said softly.

"No, we were in at usual time, I just had something I needed to sort." She said softly and he nodded at her.

"Everything okay?" Eric asked softly and she nodded with a smile. "How's the back today?" Eric asked softly.

"A lot better thank you." She said softly and involuntarily without thinking and they nodded with a smile. '_Shit, they're going to want me in the field now. Damn you Zoë and your automatic responses.'_ She thought to herself as she got herself another glass of water.

"So are you back out in the field with us? We really need you out there, things are taking forever without you." Walter said softly and she chuckled as she walked back over to them while they lounged on the sofas.

"What would you guys ever do without me?" She grinned as she sat on the armrest of the sofa by Eric.

"We'd fall apart." Walter said with a smile. "Do you want to sit down? I don't bite" He asked as he noticed her perch on the side of the sofa rather than sit next to him as there was a box on the other side of Eric.

"Oh no thank you, I'm just going to see Horatio in a moment anyway." She said softly and he nodded. "How are you guys?" She asked as she wisped her hair out of her eyes and gave them a natural bright smile. Walter and Eric replied with the same answer – they were good.

"Okay, anyway, I've got to go and see Horatio. I'll see you guys soon." She said softly as she got up and then put her glass away before she walked out.

She knocked on Horatio's door and then entered. "I've just accidently said that my back is good and now they expect me to be in the field with them as they're struggling." She sighed softly as he looked up at her as she strolled over to his desk and then sat down in one of the seats.

"You may as well tell them beautiful, they'll know by next week anyway." Horatio said softly as he looked up at her with a gentle smile.

"I don't want them to know just yet, I want to tell them as late as I can." She said softly as she looked up at him and furrowed her eyebrows..

"Well they will question why you're wearing a bulletproof jacket out in the field, anyway." Horatio said softly as he tilted his head. Zoë sighed as she put her head in her hands and exhaled heavily while she closed her eyes. "What's the real problem, sweetheart?" Horatio asked softly as he got up and walked around and sat in the seat next her and pulled it closer to place his hands on her knees once he'd turned the chair she was sitting in. He leant forwards and tried to get a look at her expression but she'd hidden her face from him. "Talk to me, Zoë." He said softly and she looked up at him.

"I just don't want to tell them yet." She said as she looked back down and shook her head.

"We don't have to tell them, we can just say that you're wearing a bulletproof vest for another reason." He said softly as he gently lifted her chin back up so his eyes could meet with hers.

"Like what though?" She asked as she took hold of his hand from her chin and placed it down in her lap while she subconsciously played with his fingers and hand as she tilted her head.

"I don't know, perhaps something like we're trying to conceive?" Horatio asked softly and she shook her head as she exhaled.

"I don't mind Eric knowing. But I don't want anyone else to know just yet." She said softly and Horatio nodded. He knew she was worried. '_She's worried about jinxing it or something, I can understand to an extent. The only thing that has changed since the last pregnancy is that Wolfe isn't here and Natalia is, is that the problem.'_ Horatio thought to himself as he mildly frowned when she looked back down to her lap to watch her hands play with Horatio's hand.

"Is Miss Boa Vista a part of the problem?" Horatio asked softly and she swallowed as she pressed her lips together as she took a deep breath through her nose. "What's bothering you about her? Is she too close, is she making you uncomfortable? Has she said something to you? I didn't think you had a problem with her, Zoë." Horatio questioned warmly as he rubbed her knees. Zoë just sighed. '_She's said something to her, what though? Natalia is a nice woman, she wouldn't say anything to upset anyone else, especially a colleague.' _He thought as he needed to know the problem and he needed to make sure she was fine before he went on the war path to find Natalia and rectify the problem.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"No, she's fine…" She said quietly which caused Horatio to immediately relax as he could hear her honesty. She sat back and placed one hand over her stomach as she looked to the side to look at Horatio's immaculate desk.

"Then what's the problem sweetheart? I can't do anything if I don't know what the problem is." He said softly as he pulled his chair closer to her again and placed both hands on her thighs as he tilted his head more at her with gentle blue eyes. She looked back to him and took a deep breath before she looked down at his purple shirt.

"You can't do anything anyway." She mumbled softly as she placed a hand over his and pressed her lips together. She took a deep, slightly stressy breath and then exhaled as she looked down at her right hand over his left on her thigh. She began to chew the side of her cheek and Horatio knew she was working herself up by not talking about it, he knew she was becoming more stressed and knew he needed to get it out of her before she bottled it up too much until it exploded out.

"Just talk to me, please Zoë." Horatio asked warmly and she looked back up at her. She saw his pleading eyes and knew he needed to know the problem.

"She doesn't know anything about Maya, Horatio. She's already come close to finding out as I nearly cried the first time I met her properly when she asked if I had children, she knew she'd stepped on something painful. She will find out and I don't want her to, things are going to be said and she'll question them. She'll probably question Eric and Walter behind our backs and that will hurt me more because I don't want them to tell her of our angel. If she must know than I want it to come from us. She's naturally an inquisitive lady, and I understand that. I just don't want her to know, I don't want to talk about that all over again." She said softly as she set her eyes on his as she furrowed her brow and pushed her tears back. Horatio pressed his lips together and looked at her with a very tender expression. She felt his gentle mood move through her when he continued to lightly rub her thighs. "Just that and I don't want others to know in case… you know." She said as she looked down and tried to push the tears back as she pressed her lips together and took a broken breath through her nose. She could feel her eyes watering as she removed her right hand from his and ran her fingers over her lips as she looked down to Horatio's lap.

"It's okay sweetheart, I understand." Horatio said softly as he got up and moved closer to her and hugged her softly while he perched himself on the armrest of her seat. He exhaled gently, happy to know that it wasn't something disastrous that was bothering her, but knew she was affected by the thought. He kissed the top of her head while she placed an arm around his waist and placed the other hand on his thigh. "Natalia is a smart woman, she'll stop questioning if she sees that people don't want to answer. I know it's a subject that Eric and Walter want to avoid too. We don't have to explain ourselves to her, she doesn't have to know. Don't worry at all, Zoë. That is the last thing you should be thinking about right now. This is about us and our baby, no-one else matters. You, me and our little bean." Horatio said warmly as he sat back down and she looked up at him with a smile developing.

"Say that again?" She asked softly as she raised her eyebrows and looked at him as if he'd presented her with a massive diamond ring.

"Say what again?" He asked softly as he tilted his head and ran his thumb over her smooth cheek.

"Our little bean" she said before she bit her lip and he then repeated. Her smile widened as she squeezed his hand. She smiled up at him and saw his eyes brighten up. "You always cheer me up, just your voice alone makes everything seem like it was going to be okay, you know that don't you?" She asked softly and he smiled at he as he squeezed her hand back.

"I do now." He smiled sweetly as he picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles and she smiled naturally at him. "You stay here today." Horatio said softly as he placed their hands on his thigh while his other tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

"I need to get out in the field Horatio, please? I will wear a bulletproof vest, I just want a decent excuse." She said softly and Horatio nodded after he sighed.

"How about we say that it is needed because I want you to, because I'm worried about you after so many trips to the hospital?" He asked softly.

"That wouldn't work would it?" She asked as she mildly frowned up at him.

"They shouldn't question you anyway sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he lightly ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

"They will though, Walter will definitely quiz me." She said as she looked into his blue eyes, she was clearly worried and over thinking things.

"Just tell him that I want you to wear a vest and if he wants more of an explanation to come to me about it. Just say you didn't even bother to question me why." Horatio said softly and she thought for a moment and then nodded, but she didn't seem too convinced.

"Will that work? He'll ask Eric though." Zoë said softly as she looked to their hands on his thigh.

"Eric won't discuss it." Horatio said softly and Zoë nodded as she looked back up at him with a small smile.

"I guess so, okay. Thank you Horatio." She said softly and Horatio gave her a smile and a nod as she got up. He then rose to his feet too and embraced her warmly and gave her a quick kiss before she walked out with a smile on her face. She walked into the break room only for Horatio to enter a few minutes later to inform them of a scene as he received a call as soon as Zoë left his office. They walked out and boarded the lift and then realised that Zoë wasn't with them.

"Where's Zoë?" Walter asked as he held the doors and looked out to the hall

"She was just with us." Eric said as he looked out across the hall and then saw her walking out from the locker room as she quickly did her shirt buttons up. They saw that she had a vest on underneath and all looked at her peculiarly as she boarded with them.

"What's with the vest? Know something we don't?" Walter asked with a smile as he let the doors close before he placed his hands on his hips with a curious smile.

"Horatio wants me to wear it." She grumbled, making it seem believable while she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the metal doors. Natalia moved away slightly as she began to feel a little uneasy as Zoë genuinely seemed pissed and didn't want to get into something with her. '_I swear she's had it in for me the past week or so. I don't want to get in the middle of anything.'_ Natalia thought to herself.

"Why?" Walter questioned which actually made Zoë feel a little annoyed for real.

"Because he worries about me; the amount of times I've ended up in hospital… you know. If you want to know all the details, you should go and ask him." She said softly, but her words turned a little bitter by the end of the sentence. Walter stepped back and nodded and he knew not to ask anything more. They all exited the lift and felt a small amount of fire in the air which soon dissipated when they walked out into the fresh air as Zoë really relaxed as she took a deep breath of the fresh Miami air. They drove to the scene and started to process, it was a sunny day so they were happy they were outside.

"Hey Zo, could you come here for a moment please" Eric asked softly and she got up and walked over to him. "What does that look like to you?" Eric asked softly as he pointed to a white wall with a peculiar blood pattern where something had touched the wall covered in blood. It was the side of a shop on the street. He couldn't make out what it was so asked Zoë for her opinion.

"That looks a little bit like the corner of someone's mouth, doesn't it?" She asked as she looked at the wall and placed her hands on her waist as she frowned at it.

"Yeah, it does, thank you Zoë." He said as she looked back to the wall and she smiled sweetly while she studied the height of the imprint.

"Judging from the height of the imprint, we're looking for someone my height, perhaps a woman." She said softly and Eric nodded as he looked to the imprint again and got a few photos.

"Thank you Zoë." Eric said softly and she smiled and then placed her hand over her stomach when she felt the nausea hit her again. Eric looked back to her as he saw her do it out the corner of his eye.

"You okay, Zo?" Eric asked softly and she nodded as she took a deep breath. "Are you sure? Do you want to go and sit down?" He asked and she shook her head and then walked away after giving him a reassuring smile. She had some bottled water that she'd left in the hummer and got back to work, trying to deal with the sensation.

"H." Eric called softly as he glanced over to Zoë.

"Eric, is everything okay?" Horatio asked as he walked over to him and then looked down at his sunglasses in his hands as he turned to face Eric sideways.

"Yeah, I don't think Zoë's feeling too well though. Is everything okay?" He asked softly and Horatio nodded appreciatively.

"Thank you Eric, she said she wasn't feeling 100%, nothing to worry about. I'll check." Horatio said softly and Eric nodded and then watched Horatio walk over to her while she crouched to collect some evidence. Eric then got back to minding his own business and processing.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Horatio asked softly as he crouched beside Zoë with a comforting expression.

"Okay, I'm just feeling a little sick again and I really need the loo." She said softly as she glanced over to him from placing a few number cards down beside evidence.

"Go and have something to eat, I put some dry cereal bars in your handbag earlier. Use the hotel over the road, they won't mind." Horatio said softly.

"I've got to do this, but thank you Horatio." She said softly as she looked back down to the evidence and tried to carry on.

"Go, I've got this." He said as he pulled on some gloves and took over what she was doing, she didn't resist and happily let him take over.

"Thank you." She said as she got up and walked over to the hummer after snapping her gloves off. She quickly ate a cereal bar and sipped the water, then went to the loo and walked back over to the scene to carry on with the processing. She crouched back beside Horatio and took over for him, allowing him to get on with what he really should be doing.

"Zoë, how tall are you?" Eric questioned as he turned around and looked at her.

"About 5'4", give or take." She said softly and he nodded as he turned back to the wall before looking back over to her.

"Is that without your heels?" He asked and she nodded.

"Look, I'm not wearing them am I?" She questioned with a smile as she gestured down to her feet.

"Yeah, well… You could have been saying you were that tall with heels." He smiled at her cheekily.

"Cheeky sod, I'm not that small." She grinned as she got up and walked over to him. He gave her a smile and then concentrated back on what he was doing as she observed. She looked like she felt a lot better so Eric no longer worried about her.

"Have you got anything?" Zoë asked softly.

"Not much, only the lip markings and a part of a cheek, I think." He said softly and Zoë nodded.

"What's that?" She asked as she looked at an abnormal spot of blood above the lip printing.

"It could have been cast off, I suppose?" Eric asked softly.

"No, it's not a droplet. I think our killer has a lip piercing." Zoë said as she looked up at Eric.

"Can you get lip piercings like that?" Eric questioned and Zoë nodded.

"Ouch!" She yelped when she felt a sharp jab in her upper abdomen. She quickly placed her hand over her stomach and looked up at Eric with a worried and pained expression fleeting across her face.

"Are you okay?" Eric questioned growing worried as he reached out and placed his hand on Zoë's upper arm.

"Horatio!" She called and he quickly rushed over to her when he heard her cry out for him. He saw her holding her stomach and frowned immediately worrying that she was getting serious stomach cramps. He placed his hand over hers as he moved closer while she looked up at him with a grave expression. "Something's happening; I've got that bad feeling again." She said as she looked up at him with frantic eyes.

"Okay sweetheart, don't panic, you're safe." Horatio said as he moved to stand in front of her as he pulled his gun out and glanced around. Eric followed his lead and pulled his gun and moved to the side of her. She continued to hold her stomach as she took some deep breaths. Both tried to cover her as much as they could.

"You, Horatio. You're the target." She said as she looked up at the back of his head and saw his red-hair lightly blowing in the wind as he continued to look around.

"We've got suspicious activity in the crowd." Eric said quietly and they both turned to look.

"Stay calm sweetheart, you're okay." Horatio said softly when he heard her pull her gun from her holster and take the safety off. Two loud, sharp shots were heard.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Horatio glanced back when he heard Zoë call his name quietly and saw her falling to the floor, he briefly felt a burning sensation in his arm, but it was quickly covered when his adrenaline was released as he watched Zoë fall to the ground. Horatio's heart felt like it stopped as he quickly turned.

"I got him!" Natalia yelled as she ran with Walter following, both had their guns drawn. They followed the man onto the street where he threw the gun into the bin. Natalia turned the heat up and ran out into the road after him, narrowly missing a car that stopped inches from her. But Natalia was determined, she was going to catch the criminal and she knew it. "Stop now!" Natalia shouted as she began to close the gap between herself and the perpetrator. Natalia jumped over the bin the man had thrown on the floor and then pushed the perpetrator to the floor and sat on his back as she pulled his hands up behind him. She put the man in cuffs and then pulled him up violently as she glared at him. "If she is hurt in any way, you will not be seeing the light of day again." Natalia growled at him before she dragged him back to the scene as Walter pulled the gun from the bin and then walked with him.

"Why did you shoot at her?" Walter questioned bitterly while the perpetrator looked down at the floor with a hard expression.

"I wasn't aiming for her! I was going for Caine! He's ruined my life!" The man spat and Natalia pulled on the cuffs and then pushed them up his back which caused the man to groan and hiss in pain.

"You want to know something - they're both married, she is also a Caine, you are in very big trouble now." Natalia growled lowly and then handed him to patrol officers who forcefully put him in the back of a patrol car.

Meanwhile, Horatio had put his gun away as did Eric as they crouched beside her, both of their hearts fluttered as Horatio placed one hand on the top of her head while he placed his other on her abdomen.

"Zoë, look at me Zoë." Horatio said as he pulled her shirt up to reveal the bulletproof vest underneath the white shirt. He frowned as he looked down at the vest but couldn't get a good look as the shirt was in the way. "Talk to me, Zoë." Horatio said as he glanced back up at her but he saw the vacant expression set on her face as she looked blankly up at the blue sky. "She's blacking out." Horatio sighed as he quickly put his hand up the vest and pushed the bullet that had penetrated the bulletproof vest slightly and come through to the other side just below her belly button.

"Zoë, you're okay, it's Eric and Horatio. You're going to be fine." Eric said softly as he placed his hand on her arm while he leant over her to look into her glassy eyes. Horatio pulled his hand out from the bottom of the vest and saw a small amount of blood on his fingers while he held the bullet in his other hand. His heart began to pound as he looked back up at Zoë with wide eyes.

"H, you're bleeding." Eric said softly when he glanced at Horatio's left arm to see it slowly seeping blood, but Horatio didn't even acknowledge Eric's comment.

"Zoë, come on." Horatio raised his voice as he dropped the bullet and moved up to look down at her vacant expression. "Get me an ambulance now!" Horatio shouted as he turned round to see a few officers on the radios having already called for an ambulance.

"There's another bullet hole by her chest, H." Eric said softly when he saw the hole in her shirt. Horatio nodded and then undone the first few buttons of her shirt and put his other hand down the vest and pushed the bullet out. He looked at it before he placed the bullet on the floor next to the first one as he wiped his slightly bloody fingers on his thigh.

"Only one has gone through the jacket slightly." Horatio said quietly, thinking to himself. He quickly checked the rest of her shirt but knew that only two bullets had been fired. He reached down and put his hand up under the vest and shirt to place his hand over the small wound.

"Hey, Zoë, it's Eric don't panic. Horatio is here too." Eric said softly as he placed his hand on her forehead when she came round again. Her eyes widened as she looked over to him with a panicked expression.

"Baby" she gasped as she began to hyperventilate as she lifted her head to see Horatio with his hand up her shirt. Horatio turned his head and gave her a calm, reassuring expression.

"It's okay sweetheart, it's not done anything, it's just grazed your skin. But we're going to go to hospital anyway." Horatio said softly as he gently palpated at her stomach. "It all feels fine, Zoë." Horatio said softly as he placed his other hand on her shoulder but she continued to hyperventilate. "Calm your breathing down beautiful, we're here, you're safe." Horatio said softly as he took hold of her hand as her expression saddened and he knew she was about to cry.

"I don't want to go back to work!" She cried as she looked up at Horatio and pulled him closer. He kept his hand on her stomach and cupped her cheek with his other hand as he looked calmly down into her eyes.

"Okay sweetheart, I'm putting you on leave as of now, I don't care if IAB don't like it." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she reached up and placed her palm against his cheek.

"Are you pregnant, Zoe?" Eric asked quietly and Zoë nodded at him as she turned her head to look at him.

"We were going to tell you very soon." Zoë said softly as Horatio caught the tears from her eyes and Eric nodded.

"You don't need to worry about that Zoë. You're going to be fine." Eric said softly and she nodded as she looked up at him and blinked a few times.

"Don't tell anyone yet please, we don't want them to know, not until I'm later in the pregnancy." She said and Eric nodded as he placed his hand back down on her arm.

"That's okay Zoë, I'm not going to tell anyone." Eric said softly and she nodded and took hold of his hand and bit her lip as she looked back up at Horatio.

"Stay calm sweetheart, you're okay. Slow your breathing down for me, please." Horatio said softly and she nodded and tried to slow her breathing down as she looked up at him and furrowed her brow.

"My stomach hurts Horatio, what if… what if…" She said as she began to cry more as she shook her head. She removed her hands from both of them and covered her face as she took broken, rapid breaths and cried. '_I didn't protect her fully! If I had she wouldn't have got hit! It's my fault she got hurt, it's always my fault! I could have hurt our baby, I could have been the cause of something dreadful again! I didn't protect her and our baby!'_ Horatio thought to himself as he tried to give Zoë a reassuring smile as he pushed his panic to the back of his mind in order to remain calm for her sake. '_I'm such a poor excuse for a husband and father, I really am.'_ Horatio belittled himself in his head, but remained strong on the outside.

"It's okay Zoë, don't worry, nothing has happened to our baby, the jacket will have absorbed most of the momentum of the bullet." Horatio said softly and she exhaled a long breath and tried to believe him. She removed one of her hands from her face and took a hold of his shirt by his chest and looked up at him worriedly.

"Promise me please." She said frantically as she squeezed his hand when she removed her other hand and took hold of his hand, but she saw him hesitate which sent her panicking more. "Horatio! Please tell me it's going to be okay." She begged him and he brought his other hand up to her head. He felt his left arm beginning to pulsate with pain and finally realised that he'd been shot too. He could feel that his arm was damp and knew it was blood.

"I promise you, it's going to be okay, you're going to be fine, our baby is going to be fine." Horatio said reassuringly and warmly, she nodded as she calmed down and looked into his eyes. '_There were only two shots. The bullet that ended up in her chest must've gone through my arm.'_ Horatio thought to himself as he tried to ignore the pain. He concentrated on Zoë and concentrated on giving her a reassuring expression.

"An ambulance is nearly here, Zoë." Walter said softly as he walked over to them.

"Thank you Walter, if you could just keep everyone away at the moment I'd be grateful." Horatio said softly and Walter nodded and then turned away.

"I'm bleeding?" Zoë questioned when she lifted her head to look down to her stomach and saw a small amount of blood on her shirt from where Horatio had accidentally brushed his bloody fingers against the shirt when he pulled the bullet out.

"It's only a graze sweetheart, I promise you." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she slowly sat up. She felt much better when she knew that it was only a small wound and because the initial pain in her stomach was going. Horatio moved and put his right leg behind her with his knee against her back to keep her upright while he knelt on his left knee beside her hip with his hands on her shoulder and forearm. Eric did the same so they were supporting her back. She focused on her breathing and kept calm as Horatio and Eric soothed her. She looked up at two paramedics as they walked over to her while Walter kept everyone else away.

"My name is Milo, can you tell me yours, ma'am?" He asked as he crouched in front of her and placed his bag on the floor.

"Zoë Caine." She said softly and he nodded with a gentle expression.

"I understand that you were shot? Where's the wound?" He asked softly as his partner began to get things from their kit.

"My stomach, it's not bad as I was wearing a bulletproof vest, but I'm 6 weeks pregnant and my stomach hurts a little now." She said as she slowly lifted the shirt and vest to give him a glimpse of the small wound.

"Okay sugar, would you prefer if we looked at you in the ambulance?" He asked when he saw the tears in her eyes and she nodded as she pressed her lips together and tried her best not to cry as she dropped the shirt and vest to fully cover herself again. "Okay, can you walk?" He asked softly and Zoë nodded. Horatio and Eric then helped her up and walked her over to the ambulance as Walter kept a clear path for them and kept the crowd away. Horatio and Eric sat Zoë on the bed and then stepped back.

"Will you be coming with us?" The paramedic questioned as he looked up at Eric.

"No." Eric said as he lowered his eyebrows at the paramedic and stepped back.

"Excuse me, please do not make assumptions based on age." Zoë growled at him with a frown. The paramedic looked down at her with a slightly confused expression. "My husband will be coming with me." She growled at him and he backed off with an apologetic expression as Zoë took hold of Horatio's hand while she continued to glare at him.

"I'm sorry ma'am." He said and she exhaled and then nodded as she looked up at Horatio with her frown disappearing. Her eyes fell to Horatio's left arm and then widened as they focused on the bloody arm.

"Horatio! You've been shot! Sit down." She ordered as she pulled him down onto the bed as the paramedic looked over to Horatio and then saw the wound on his arm. The paramedic moved closer and sat opposite Horatio.

"Can you give me a call later, please?" Eric asked and Horatio nodded at him with a gentle expression. Zoë looked up at Horatio and he saw her on the verge of tears again.

"Don't worry sweetheart, you're both fine." Horatio said softly as he took hold of her other hand as her lip quivered slightly.

"What about you though?" She questioned with a frown and he exhaled softly with a reassuring smile but he could feel the pain now that his adrenaline had worn off and now that it was being really pointed out to him. He could see his arm covered with blood.

"I'm good." Horatio assured her as he looked up at her with a forced smile. He wasn't fooling Zoë, she could see the pain in his eyes.

"Sir would you please take your jacket off?" The paramedic asked softly and Horatio looked up to him and lightly shook his head.

"Just concentrate on Zoë, I'm good." Horatio said softly as he felt the searing hot pain intensify causing his jaw to tighten slightly.

"Horatio, take the jacket off now." Zoë ordered firmly, lowly and he looked to her. He swallowed and knew that she wasn't to be disobeyed. He slowly took the jacket off and then unbuttoned his shirt when the paramedic asked him to, to avoid conflict with Zoë. The last thing he wanted to do was to stress her out more by arguing with her as he knew she was worrying about him.

"Would you like any painkillers, sir?" He questioned and Horatio shook his head as he allowed the paramedic to fiddle around with his arm. Zoë watched the paramedic tend to Horatio's arm intensely.

"You've been lucky sir, it's just gone through the fatty part of your arm, there's no major damage. We'll just put a bandage over you and you'll have to be stitched up at the hospital, okay?" The paramedic questioned and Horatio nodded. He let the paramedic faff around with his arm while he continued to look at Zoë, studying her, making sure that she was okay. The paramedic turned to Zoë once he was done with Horatio. Horatio quickly put his shirt back on as he moved to sit opposite Zoë with a tender expression.

"If you could lay back for me please Zoë, I need to look and feel your stomach if that's okay?" The paramedic asked as the other closed the doors to give her privacy. The second paramedic hopped in through the side door and began to help the other with the investigations.

"No, look after Horatio, he's the one that's really been shot." Zoë said as she looked up at them.

"Zoë, Horatio is fine, it's just a minor injury, it's not threatening his life at all." Milo, the paramedic assured her. She looked over to Horatio who nodded at her with a gentle smile. She then looked back up at the paramedic before looking down to her stomach and slowly undoing the shirt and vest for them. "Do you have any other medical conditions, Zoë?" Milo asked.

"Asthma and I have a pacemaker." She said and they nodded.

"Is this your second baby?" Milo asked softly as he looked at the c-section scar. She burst into tears as she covered her face while she shook her head. Horatio quickly got up and sat on the bed next to her as the paramedics quickly moved away to give them space.

"It's okay sweetheart." Horatio whispered as he kissed her temple gently as he rubbed her back.

"We lost our first baby at 19 weeks during the pregnancy." Horatio said quietly as he looked up at the paramedic and he nodded as he pressed his lips together and felt the atmosphere of the ambulance drop into darkness.

"Sweetheart, calm down for me please. You're both going to be fine." Horatio said softly and she looked over to him as she pulled him closer and hugged him tighter.

"I don't want our baby taken from us again, Horatio." She cried as he hissed in pain when she accidentally caught his arm wound.

"No-one is taking our baby, they want to check you over, that's all." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she took a deep breath. "Okay?" Horatio asked and she nodded. The paramedics moved closer once Horatio moved to the seat but still kept hold of her hand.

"Can you describe the pain to us?" Milo asked softly as he felt her stomach again.

"It's like a bruise I guess. It really doesn't hurt anymore, I just think I may get a small bruise." She said softly and the paramedic nodded.

"We're going to take you to hospital just as a precaution." He said softly and Zoë nodded and then looked to Horatio with a worried expression.

"It's just a precaution sweetheart, I'll call Nathan." He said softly and she nodded. He pulled his phone out and rang Nathan to alert him that Zoë was coming in. They arrived at the hospital a few minutes later as Horatio continued to keep her calm. Nathan greeted them and quickly took them through to majors while the paramedics briefed Nathan on both Horatio and Zoë when Nathan said he'd take on both of them.

"Okay Zoë, I'm just going to have a feel of your tummy." Nathan said warmly as she scrambled over to the cubicle bed and she nodded at Nathan as she gripped Horatio's hand tightly. Nathan felt her stomach but didn't feel anything out of the ordinary.

"How bad is the pain on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst pain ever?" Nathan questioned as he looked up at her.

"2 maybe." She replied and Nathan nodded as he felt her stomach again.

"Can you describe the pain?" Nathan asked.

"I told the bloody paramedic, it's like a bruise. It doesn't hurt internally, it just hurts a little around that small cut." Zoë grumbled as she put her head back and frowned up at the ceiling, feeling agitated.

"Okay sweet, I need to make sure it's not changed, that's all." Nathan said warmly and she exhaled a long breath.

"Baby is good, no harm done. From what I can feel, there's nothing that is worrying me and from what you've said, nothing is standing out." He said softly and Zoë smiled as she finally relaxed.

"Could it have damaged the baby? It was forceful enough to knock me down." She said as she looked at Nathan.

"No, the baby is very well protected, it was lucky that you wore the vest, it absorbed most of the force, there's no damage to your stomach apart from that small graze. I've cleaned the graze and put a small bandage over it, but there is nothing to worry about at all." Nathan said softly and Zoë nodded.

"Okay, thank you." She said softly and Nathan nodded. Both Nathan and Horatio could tell that she just wanted him to look at Horatio.

"It's Horatio's turn now." Zoë said softly and Nathan turned to Horatio as Horatio exhaled, he was partially relieved to hear that Zoë and the baby were fine, but felt frustrated because he didn't see the need to be fussed about.

"Just let Nathan check you out. Would you like two gaping bullet holes in your arm?" Zoë questioned as she raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms as she sat up. He exhaled and nodded as he took his jacket off. Nathan quickly stitched him up as Horatio sat on the bed. He also did the standard observations on Horatio, but Horatio was fine, he'd only lost a little blood.

"You're free to go, but if you have any worries or problems, call me or come back, okay?" He asked and they both nodded.

"Thank you Nathan." She said as she stood up and he gave her a warm smile. She quickly hugged him and then sat back to do the vest back up as well as her buttons while Horatio shook Nathan's hand and thanked him. Nathan left them to it and quickly walked back up to his office.

"We're going home and relaxing sweetheart, do you want anything on the way?" Horatio asked softly as he helped her off the bed with a caring expression.

"No, I just want cuddles with you." She said softly and he nodded with a warm smile as he put his arm around her and then walked out with her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Horatio asked as they walked out and Zoë nodded confidently. She felt fine in herself so she wasn't worrying at all anymore. They got into a taxi and were dropped off at the lab where they picked up the car and then drove home. Zoë went to change quickly while Horatio rang up the chief to explain that Zoë will be on leave until further notice and that he won't be back at work for that day and the chief was very understanding. Zoë walked back down and into the kitchen just as Horatio hung up.

"You're on leave now." Horatio said softly and Zoë nodded with a smile.

"Thank you handsome, do you have to go back today?" She asked softly as she walked over to him and placed her hands on his waist as she looked up at him with a pleasant smile.

"No, I've got the rest of the day off." He said softly as he did her jogging bottoms up for her. She thanked him and then turned to the side and flicked the kettle on.

"Do you want a coffee?" She asked softly as she looked over to him.

"I'll make sweetheart, go and sit down and I'll bring a snack through too." He said softly and she nodded with a smile as she lightly rubbed her abdomen.

"Thank you handsome." She said with a natural smile before she went into the living room and put her feet up on the sofa and relaxed back comfortably.

"Would you like chicken salad or salad with cheese in?" Horatio asked warmly as he walked through with their mugs.

"Cheese, please." She said softly and he nodded as he put her herbal tea on the coffee table along with his coffee.

"Thank you kitten" she said softly and he looked up at her with a small smile again. "You don't mind the name kitten, do you?" She asked softly and he shook his head as a more comfortable smile developed as he began to like it.

"No, it's just a little strange, I'll get used to it." He said softly and she nodded with a smile. '_I really never thought someone would ever call me kitten… but it's quite cute when she says it.' _Horatio thought to himself as he walked back out and into the kitchen and prepared the salad for the both of them. He then walked back through with two plates of salad. He placed her plate on a pillow she had put over her thighs.

"Thank you" she smiled sweetly at him as he sat down beside her.

"You don't have to eat all of that, I did make a lot." He said softly and she smiled with a nod and began to eat the fresh salad.

"Don't forget that Joe is coming round later for coffee and a meal." She said softly and Horatio looked up at her a little surprised.

"Are you sure you're up for that today?" He asked softly and she nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, can we have duck? Am I allowed to eat duck?" She asked softly before she had another bite of the salad.

"Yes, you can eat duck. We can have duck as long as you're sure you're okay and up for it?" Horatio asked softly and she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm really up for it." She said and Horatio nodded.

"We'll go to the shop after we've rested then, yes?" Horatio asked and she nodded.

"Thank you kitten" she smiled sweetly and he looked down with his secret smile, but she couldn't see it. "Does it bother you? Please say if it does." She asked softly.

"It doesn't bother me at all, I'll get used to it beautiful, I do like it, it's just odd being referred to as something other than H, Horatio or handsome." He smiled as he looked up at her and she nodded and se that he did like it. They sat back and enjoyed the salad while they had a conversation. Horatio looked over to her as he finished with his plate and looked down at her clear plate. "Wow, well done sweetheart, I didn't expect you to eat all of that." Horatio said softly.

"I was hungry." She smiled softly as she got up and then took his plate from his lap as he picked up their mugs.

"Let me get changed and I'll be right down so we can go to the supermarket." She said softly and he smiled with a nod. She quickly came back down in a pair of skinny jeans and a top with a light cardigan. "Ready?" She asked softly and he nodded then walked out with her. They returned 40 minutes later and put the duck in the oven almost straight away on a low heat so it cooked slowly.

"Go and sit down sweetheart, do you want a drink?" He asked softly once he saw how exhausted she was.

"Can I have a hot chocolate please?" She asked softly and he nodded with a gentle smile.

"Go and relax and I'll bring it right through to you." Horatio said softly as he lightly rubbed her lower back.

"Can I have it in my large Winnie the Pooh and Tigger mug please?" She asked softly and he nodded with a smile. She then walked out with a smile on her face and laid across the sofa. She sat up once Horatio came in with two mugs.

"It's hot, be careful." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she took it from him. He put his mug on the coffee table and then lifted her legs and sat down. He placed her legs back down on his lap and picked up his mug.

"What time is Joe coming over?" Horatio asked softly as he looked over to her.

"Around 6.45PM." She said softly and Horatio nodded as his left fingertips glided up and down her shin while he held his mug in his right hand. "We forgot to ring Eric, I'll do that now." She said as she pulled her phone from her pocket and then dialled his number.

"Hey sweetie, it's Zoë." She said as he picked up.

"Hey Zo, everything okay? Are you back from the hospital now?" He asked softly, but it was clear that he was worried.

"Yes, all is well. Both Horatio and I are taking the day off. Can you please just tell everyone that I am alright and that Horatio is too, he's been patched up. But don't say anything about the pregnancy though, please." She said softly as she lightly bit her lip and watched Horatio's fingers tenderly move up and down her shin.

"Of course Zoë, I'll do that in a moment. Hope you both have a relaxing day, give me a call if you need anything. Also a big congratulations to you both, I'm really happy for you." He said softly.

"Thank you Eric, see you soon." She said softly.

"See you soon, take care." He said before they hung up. Once she'd finished her mug, she put it in the dishwasher with Horatio's empty mug. She then walked back into the living room.

"Can you wake me up in 20 minutes, please?" She asked as she sat back down and put her legs over him.

"Of course sweetheart." Horatio said softly with a warm smile and she smiled back and then pulled a cushion over to her and got comfortable as Horatio massaged her legs. He watched her doze for the entire 20 minutes with a small smile on his face. '_She's so beautiful, so peaceful. We're having a baby, we're having a baby. I think Maya would love a sister, I would love to have a daughter, but then I'd also love to have a son. I know Zoë would like a boy first, so I hope the baby is a boy. But then again, she'll be over the moon with either, I know I will be. She's my wife, she's pregnant, she's well and healthy, what more could I want? I just hope we're able to have our family in peace.'_ He thought to himself before he woke her gently.

"Hmm" she murmured as she lifted her head and looked over to him as she squinted tiredly.

"Feeling better?" He asked softly and she nodded as she sat up and stifled a yawn as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"Thank you handsome." She smiled tiredly as she covered her yawn again. "Walk?" She asked softly and he nodded with a smile and got up with her. "Will the oven be okay on its own?" She asked softly and Horatio nodded as they walked out of the house, hand in hand.

"It's only on low anyway." He said softly as they stepped foot out onto the sand.

XXXXXXXX

That night, they climbed into bed after their showers and moved closer together. Zoë laid on her side and wrapped herself around Horatio while he lay on his back.

"I didn't realise that Joe could read you quite so well…" Horatio said softly as he looked over to her and raised his eyebrows.

"Neither, but he took the news better than I expected." She said softly and Horatio nodded as he also expected Joe to fly off the handle. "I can't believe he didn't want to go and beat that man to shit for shooting me… what happened exactly? Have you been told about what they've found? Why did he shoot me? It is just another psycho who hates me? I saw your name in the child's hand-writing, not mine. Maya was telling me that you were in danger." She said quietly as she closed her eyes and then kissed his shoulder. She wanted to forget the vision of Horatio's name in the child's handwriting as it felt hauntingly horrible.

"I'm not sure sweetheart, I'll find out tomorrow though." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she took a deep breath and yawned, she felt exhausted.

"Are you okay Horatio?" Zoë asked warmly as she sensed something was on his fine.

"I'm fine sweetheart." Horatio said warmly as he lightly pushed her fringe from her face.

"Are you sure? It looks like something is bothering you. Talk to me, please?" Zoë asked warmly but Horatio exhaled. '_I'm not going to drag the past up, Maya is gone and it was my fault, but I have to live with that and focus on her and our baby now. I will always have the guilt, but it's not something I should be putting on Zoë's shoulders, especially at the moment.'_ He thought to himself while he sighed again and shook his head.

"I'm sure, everything is absolutely fine, it's just been a bit of a hard day.'Horatio said confidently and Zoë nodded, believing him and then gave him a small smile.

"Goodnight handsome." She said softly as she lightly ran her fingertips up from his stomach to his chest where she planted her hand flat.

"Goodnight beautiful." He said before he gave her their goodnight kiss and then pulled her closer. They both fell asleep quickly and into a pleasant dream. They were woken the next morning by the piercing sound of the alarm. Horatio quickly got up and got Zoë some dry breakfast before she got up to help with the morning sickness and sat with her while she ate it while he had his coffee.

"Thank you handsome." She said softly and he gave her a smile as they finished their breakfast. They quickly had their showers and changed. Horatio changed into his normal work attire while Zoë changed into her casual lounge wear.

"I'm taking the BMW today beautiful." Horatio said softly as they walked downstairs.

"Why? You never take the BMW." She said as she looked at him with a smile. She smiled more when she imagined him turning up at work in the convertible and found it slightly amusing. '_I think he definitely suits the bigger cars. He definitely looks sexy in the BMW Z4, but I don't want him looking sexy when I'm not there.'_ Zoë thought to herself with a grin.

"Well, if you needed or wanted to go out anywhere, I'd much rather have you driving the Porsche instead of the BMW, it's safer and the Porsche is bigger." Horatio said softly. She raised an eyebrow and placed her hand on her hip as she stopped in the hall as she tilted her head.

"No arguments, you get the Porsche, I've got the BMW." He said and she sighed and then nodded as her smile returned. '_I think we might have to get rid of the BMW, if he's adamant that I have the Porsche, he can't turn up to work every day in that BMW, it won't suit him. Maybe I could use that as an excuse to get another X6? I did love that car. Or an Audi q7… no, I'd have to have another X6'_ Zoë thought to herself.

"Don't complain when the seat and steering wheel are out of place then." She smiled sweetly as Horatio made sure he had everything he needed which was his phone, keys and wallet.

"I won't." He said as he hugged her and then kissed the top of her head. "I can stay home sweetheart." Horatio said softly as they pulled back from the embrace and he threaded his fingers through her hair as he tilted his head.

"No it's fine, Skyler is on high alert, Joe isn't far either. She'll send your phone hourly updates as to the status of the house and whether I'm still in or if I've gone out as she's on high alert and will know that you're out." She said softly and he nodded.

"That sounds good." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a smile.

"No unnecessary worrying, okay?" She asked softly and he nodded with a smile. "I love you handsome, don't worry about me. Find out about yesterday please?" She asked softly and he nodded as his eyes drank as much of her coffee-coloured eyes as they could because he wouldn't get to see them for hours.

"I love you too, beautiful. I will, call if you need or want anything, okay? Take it easy." He said softly and she nodded with a smile as she smoothed out the lapels of his jacket. She then wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist. They lightly kissed a few times before they deepened the kiss. Horatio stopped kissing with a slight groan when he accidentally caught his bullet wound on Zoë. She pulled back and frowned at him.

"Are you okay?" She asked warmly and he nodded with a smile as the pain quickly dissipated. He pulled her back and gave her one last quick kiss with a smile to show her that he was fine. "Have a great day, don't work too hard." She said sweetly as he opened the front door. She closed it after he had pulled off the drive in the BMW Z4. '_I can't believe he's driving that.'_ She smiled to herself as she walked into the kitchen to get herself a drink.

XXXXXXXX

He returned home early that day and quietly walked into the living room and saw her taking a nap on the sofa with one of their pillows. '_Probably my pillow.'_ He thought to himself with a smile as he walked through to the kitchen and made himself a coffee and made her a herbal tea. He walked back into the living room and smiled down at Zoë before he sat down on the sofa by her and put the mugs on the coffee table and then ran his hand through her hair. His eyes softened more when she began to wake as his smile returned after a hard day.

"Hey sweetheart, how are you feeling?" He asked softly as she looked up at him dazed.

"Mmm tired." She murmured as she exhaled a deep, steady breath. She reached over to his thigh and placed her hand on is thigh and looked up at him tiredly.

"How long have you been sleeping for?" He asked softly and she looked at the wall clock and sighed.

"Two hours now, no wonder why I feel like shit." She said as she sat up and pushed her hair back out of her eyes. "Sorry handsome, how was your day?" She asked softly as she gave him a small smile.

"It was okay thank you, but it's not the same without you though. It seems to be a lot quieter." He smiled and she giggled lightly as she woke up more.

"Did Walter and Nat ask why I wasn't there?" She asked and he nodded as he reached over and placed his hand against the side of her neck while he skimmed his thumb over her cheek tentatively.

"I just told them that you weren't up for work just yet." He said softly and she nodded as she turned her head towards his hand and then kissed his palm before she engulfed his hand in both of hers and looked back up at him and into his eyes.

"That excuse won't work for long." She sighed softly and he picked up her herbal tea with his other hand. "Thank you, just what I need right now." She smiled and he nodded with a smile as she released his hand and took the mug from him with a gentle smile.

"What about Alexx?" Zoë asked softly as she looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows before she sipped the warm herbal tea.

"She was just concerned about you, I told her that everything was fine and that you needed some time off." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a gentle smile.

"Thank you, kitten." She smiled sweetly and he smiled back at her. "Did you find anything out about yesterday?" Zoë questioned before she sipped the tea and crossed her legs as she sat up straight.

"He didn't mean to shoot you, he meant to shoot and kill me. I've put his brother away and he's on death row, he's got a grudge against me now." Horatio said softly and Zoë frowned. '_Oh my gosh, he could have killed Horatio. Can I get Horatio to wear a bulletproof vest? He'd never do that would he?'_ Zoë thought to herself.

"Is he going to be charged?" Zoë asked and Horatio nodded.

"He'll be joining his brother in prison." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a sigh of relief.

"Walk and then dinner?" She asked and he nodded with a smile and then helped her up. They put their mugs away and walked out. Once out on the beach, Zoë noticed that something was bothering Horatio.

"What's wrong handsome?" She asked softly as she looked up at him and lightly squeezed his hand.

"It's nothing sweetheart." Horatio assured her warmly as he gave her a small forced smile. .

"Horatio, talk to me." She asked and he sighed.

"It's nothing beautiful, it's just work stuff." He said softly as he looked at her with a gentle expression.

"Hard case?" She asked with a mild frown, slightly concerned as she didn't want any extra stress put on Horatio at all.

"Something like that." He replied and she nodded as she looked back down to the sand.

He looked over to her when he saw a mischievous smile develop across her face. "I'll take your mind off it later then." She smiled up and him and then watched a boyish smile appear across his face.

During dinner, Zoë got a call.

"Work is calling me…" She said to Horatio as she looked down at her phone with a frown.

"Don't bother answering it sweetheart." Horatio said softly and she lowered her eyebrows at him. '_He's hiding something from me…'_ She thought to herself as she looked at him with her frown deepening.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

She answered the phone as she leant forwards on the work surface and Horatio rubbed his forehead as he looked at her.

"Zoë Caine." She said as she looked at him, clearly not too happy with Horatio as she could see him becoming uncomfortable and that confirmed her suspicions that he was hiding something from her.

"Detective Caine, this is Sergeant Tim Ways from IAB we require you to fulfil your two weeks of work, no exceptions. I trust that Lieutenant Caine has informed you of this?" He questioned strongly. Zoë looked down at the work surface from Horatio as her eyes hardened. _'How dare he speak to me like that?_'Zoë thought as her eyes narrowed on the middle of the island counter.

"Excuse me, but if I hadn't have worn that bulletproof jacket today, me and my baby would be dead right now, I don't think I am going to return." She said strongly as she looked back up at Horatio, clearly unhappy with him.

"You can wear a bulletproof jacket again then, you weren't harmed, were you? There is no physical injury to keep you from working until your leave." Tim said firmly himself, she could hear the smug tone in his voice which only drove her annoyance further.

"Excuse me, you don't know anything about me or what condition I am in. I happen to be in some discomfort right now due to being hit with two bullets yesterday." She replied bitterly as Horatio swallowed as he looked at her, slightly worriedly. '_I should have been straight with her.'_ He thought to himself.

"Discomfort isn't stopping you from doing your job, if you do not return we will fire you and suspend Lieutenant Caine for misconduct of our rules and guidelines." He replied equally as bitterly as Zoë's jaw slacked slightly from total shock as she looked back down to the counter.

"You cannot do that." She growled.

"You watch me." He replied.

"I will come back to work then, but if anything happens to me or my baby then your head will be taken, do you understand that?" She questioned as Horatio took a deep breath.

"Is that a threat, Detective?" He questioned.

"Yes it is, Sergeant and I intend to abide by that threat if any harm comes to either of us, or if you give Horatio shit. Believe me, I will physically take your head." She growled before hanging up. She slammed her phone down on the work surface and then looked up at Horatio, she looked furious.

"Why didn't you tell me, Horatio?" She questioned forcefully as her eyes set on his.

"I didn't want you to worry and I certainly didn't want you back at work." He said calmly, standing his ground as he tilted his head at her.

"He was going to fire me and suspend you, Horatio." She growled as she leant forwards again with a very deep frown.

"I can just hire you back when you're ready to come back, I don't want you back at work, Zoë." He sighed as he finally broke the intense glare she had going when he looked down to the counter.

"They will make your life hell if I don't go back. I'm going back, but I'm wearing a bulletproof vest everywhere, I'm going to wear one of the more heavy-duty ones that goes over the shirt instead of under. I'm not having them make your life hell, Horatio, you don't need that. I'll be fine." She said softly and Horatio exhaled as he looked down to his plate.

"I cleared it with the chief, Zoë, they shouldn't be overriding my decision." Horatio grumbled as he looked back up at her with a soft expression.

"I know, but IAB are a bunch of twats who do not like us because they're stuck in doors sorting out petty things all day long." She said as she looked back down at her half eaten plate and then pushed it away. She looked down at the dark work surface and exhaled. '_Why do they always have to stick their noses in?'_ Zoë thought to herself.

"Okay, but you're not going out to any scenes that I perceive to be a threat, okay?" He asked and she nodded as she pressed her lips together as she took a deep breath. "Can you try and eat more, please?" He asked softly when he saw her reluctance to eat anymore.

"I'm not hungry anymore. I'm going for a bath." She said softly as got she up and scraped the food into the food bin and then walked out. Horatio felt put off his food and did the same and then walked upstairs after her. He walked over to the main bathroom and heard the water running. He knocked on the ajar door and waited for her response.

"Yeah?" She asked softly, calmly and he then walked in to see her mixing the bath to create more bubbles as she sat on the edge of the tub. She glanced up at him with a small smile before she looked back down to the bath as he slowly walked over to her.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I didn't want to stress you out and I didn't want to make you feel pressured into going back to work, I know you don't particularly want to go back, and I don't want you to go back either. I did what I thought was best for you." He said softly as he stood beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. He moved his hand to lightly rub the top part of her back as she exhaled steadily.

"Don't worry about it handsome, there's a week and a day left, I'll be fine." She said softly as she looked up at him. He nodded at her with a gentle expression before she stood up and wrapped her dry arm around his waist as she placed her head against his shoulder and chest while she took another deep breath and closed her eyes.

"You tell me if you want to go home at any time, I will take you straight home and I _will_ put you on leave, okay?" He said softly and she nodded as she lightly moved her hand up and down his spine. "Promise me that you'll tell me if you want to go home." Horatio said softly with his lips against the top of her head.

"I promise." She said softly and he nodded contentedly, happy as he kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back.

"Have a bath sweetheart, I'll be downstairs, okay?" He asked and she nodded as she pulled away from him. She placed her hand on his waist while the other dripped with water by her side. She looked at his top button with a kind, easy smile. "You're not stressed, are you?" Horatio asked and she shook her head as she looked back up at him.

"I'm fine handsome, if I were stressed, I'd have you stay or have a shower." She said softly and he nodded.

"Okay sweetheart, call if you need anything." He said warmly as he raised a hand to the back of her head and gently pulled her closer to place a kiss on her forehead. He then walked out and kept himself occupied until Zoë walked downstairs ready for bed.

The next week was fine until the Thursday.

Thursday morning rose and Zoë was woken by her need for the loo. She accidently woke Horatio as she got out of bed again and then walked back in and sat on his side as she rubbed her stomach while she looked at Horatio with tired eyes.

"Feeling sick again?" He asked softly as he sat up and began to rub her back. She nodded as she looked at him and then looked to the alarm. They had 15 minutes until the alarm went off. She took a deep breath as she looked back to Horatio and then ran a hand through his floppy bed-hair.

"I'm going to get some food, do you want a coffee now?" She asked softly.

"Get back into bed sweetheart, I'll get you something to eat, you'll feel worse if you go and get it." He said softly and she nodded and removed her hand from his hair. She gave him a quick kiss as he got out of bed and then crawled up to his spot and laid on his side as she rubbed her stomach. She took a deep breath and took in his scent which nearly put her straight back to sleep. She rested her eyes until Horatio came back up with a bowl of virtually dry cereal for her and a kiwi. He sat at the end of the bed and sipped his coffee as she ate her breakfast. She put the bowl down on the side and gave him a small smile.

"My boobs are so tender at the moment." She groaned as she raised one hand to one of her breasts.

"Is the bra fitting properly?" He asked softly as she removed her hand from her breast and picked up a piece of kiwi that he'd already cut up for her.

"It's getting smaller again, I need to go shopping." She said softly and Horatio nodded as she put the fruit in her mouth.

"We'll go this weekend?" He asked softly and she nodded. "Are you more comfortable without a bra?" Horatio asked and she shook her head as she swallowed the fruit.

"Much more comfortable with the bra" she said softly and Horatio nodded. She felt her stomach doing more summersaults and pressed her lips together again. "Please excuse me." She mumbled as she got up and quickly rushed into the bathroom and kicked the door too. She knelt in front of the loo as she began to throw up. Horatio quickly walked in and pulled her hair back and rubbed her back in an effort to soothe her. "What a waste of a breakfast." She grumbled as she sat back when finished expelling her stomach contents.

"You'll just have to have more breakfast then." He said softly as he continued to rub her back.

"Erugh," she groaned as she shook her head and flushed the loo.

"We've got some crackers downstairs." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she got up and picked up her tooth brush.

"Go and get a shower and changed kitten, I'll be right through after my shower." She said with a mouthful of toothpaste. He nodded and then walked out as he left the door wide open. He quickly showered in the main bathroom before he quickly changed and also got something out for her to wear. He walked out and downstairs for something else for her to eat. She then walked down in the clothes he'd got out for her. She still looked like she was going to throw up.

"Well done with the matching." She smiled sweetly and he chuckled as he placed the plate beside her herbal tea while she sat on the stool.

"We're going to be late." Zoë said softly as she picked up one cracker and took a bite as she looked up at him through her lashes.

"We'll be fine." Horatio assured her as he sat down with another coffee. She gave him a small smile and then nodded with a gentle smile.

"Thank you kitten." She smiled softly and he nodded while she took another bite.

"I've put snacks in your handbag as well as some fruit, okay?" Horatio asked softly and she nodded with her smile brightening up.

"Thank you, you're amazing." She smiled sweetly.

They then got to work and got stuck in immediately. Later that morning she walked into the break room with Eric as they decided they needed a break and found Walter and Natalia in there.

"What do you want, Zoë?" Eric asked softly with a sweet smile.

"Just a herbal tea thank you, I don't mind what one." She said as she sat down next to Walter on the sofa.

"Biscuits too?" He asked and she nodded with a tired smile.

"Thank you sweetie." She said as she pressed her lips into a hard line when she could smell the egg and cress sandwich Natalia was eating and it was unsettling her stomach again. Eric then walked over to her with her mug and biscuits. '_Well someone gets all of the special treatment, she always has though, I can't complain now.'_ Natalia thought to herself as she watched Eric smile warmly at Zoë before setting her tea on the coffee table before he placed the biscuits on a napkin instead of on the table. He knew she wouldn't eat them if they came into contact with the table and she chuckled. '_Even Eric knows me too well now.'_ She thought to herself. "Thank you sweetie." She said as she looked up at him and then picked up the herbal tea quickly to try and drown out the smell of egg that was filling her nostrils. She took a deep breath of the pomegranate and raspberry flavoured tea to push out the smell of egg, but it didn't work and she could feel her stomach becoming more and more unsettled. "Please excuse me." She said quickly as she got up after putting the mug down and quickly rushed out and Eric followed after putting his mug down also. Eric caught up with her and began to worry a little as he could see that she really wasn't feeling very well.

"Okay?" Eric questioned as he placed his hand on her upper back as they headed towards the restrooms.

"Yeah" she said quietly as she picked up her speed and rushed into the ladies restroom. Eric sighed softly. '_Is it morning sickness?'_ He thought to himself as he leant against the wall and then saw Horatio walking through the hall. Horatio locked his eyes onto Eric and began to approach with a gentle expression.

"Eric, loitering about the ladies loos now?" He asked softly and Eric smiled at him with a small chuckle as he looked down and then stood up straight. He looked back up at Horatio as Horatio's secret smile made an appearance.

"I'm not that desperate yet, H. I think Zoë's feeling unwell again, she's just walked in there after getting up quickly from the break room." Eric said softly and Horatio nodded appreciatively.

"Okay, thank you Eric I've got this." Horatio said softly and Eric nodded before he walked back to the break room.

"Is she okay?" Walter asked as he looked up at Eric.

"Yeah, she's just a little under the weather I think, nothing to worry about though." Eric said softly as he sat back down next to Natalia.

"Is she pregnant again?" Walter questioned and Eric shrugged casually as he looked over to him while Natalia perked her head up.

"I don't know, I doubt it, they said that they were going to wait a bit until they were both fully ready." He said casually and neither Natalia nor Walter suspected a thing as they nodded.

"Pregnant again?" Natalia questioned as she frowned at the both of them. They both looked back to Natalia and realised she didn't know anything about it.

"Slip of the tongue, I mean is she pregnant? A lot of pregnant woman get sick, don't they? And she seems to be extra stressy." Walter said casually to try and avoid any further questioning. Natalia briefly scowled at them as she thought but did believe Walter and so let it go, she didn't believe that Zoë had been previously pregnant at all.

"Drop it Walter. She'd probably get quite pissy with you if you said that to her. She's just feeling unwell, she doesn't question you when you're unwell." Eric snapped, quite annoyed that he nearly led Natalia onto the horrific trail that Zoë and Horatio had been on.

"Sorry Eric." Walter apologised as he knew he'd pushed it with Eric and he knew Eric cared about both Horatio and Zoe a lot. Zoë then walked back into the break room looking a little tired but gave them a small forced smile.

"Your tea is still fine." Eric said softly and she nodded with a smile as she slowly walked over to the sofa.

"Thank you." She said as she sat back down next to Walter.

"Are you okay?" Walter asked and she nodded as she took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I think I might be coming down with something, that's all." She said softly and Walter nodded.

"Please don't give it to me." Walter said as he moved away from her with a smile and she chuckled.

"I won't, don't worry." She smiled as she picked up her herbal tea and a biscuit. They all engaged in a calm, pleasant conversation while Zoë's stomach settled.

"Eric, Miss Boa Vista I need you to head back to the scene from yesterday, a patrol officer has found evidence that was missed, or has been placed since the murder." Horatio said as he walked into the break room and they both nodded at him.

"I'll come too, I need some air." She said as she got up and Horatio gave her a disapproving look while Natalia and Eric made their way to the door.

"I'll meet you out there Eric, I'll ride with you." She said softly and he nodded and walked out with Natalia as Zoë walked slowly with Horatio. "Horatio, don't worry kitten. I really need to get out for some air. Being in here is making me feel worse. I'm with Eric, don't worry." She said softly and he then gave her a nod.

"Put your vest on though." He said softly and she nodded.

"I wouldn't even dream of going out without it on. I'll see you later kitten." She smiled softly and then gave him a quick kiss and then walked away. He looked down at his sunglasses in his hands with a secret smile before he looked up and set his eyes on her ass while she walked away. He then turned and walked away as she boarded the lift. Zoë hopped into the hummer with Eric and they drove off with Natalia following.

"Morning sickness?" Eric asked softly and she nodded.

"I'm getting it bad this time." She said as she looked over to him with a drained expression.

"I also told them that you were feeling under the weather, Walter asked if you were pregnant, but I managed to deter them both and they no longer think you are, is that okay?" Eric questioned and Zoë nodded with a kind smile.

"Thank you so much sweetie." She said softly and he nodded and she then put the window open a little to get fresh air circulating around the hummer. "What about Natalia? Did she say anything?" Zoë questioned. Eric glanced over to her and contemplated telling her the truth. "It's just that I really don't want her to know about Maya, and I certainly don't want her to be asking you or Walter about her. If she has to know, then I'd need it to come from me and Horatio, no-one else. But I'm reluctant to tell her as is Horatio." Zoë said and Eric nodded.

"She doesn't know anything, don't worry." Eric said warmly and Zoë nodded as she relaxed a little more and then looked out of the window to get more air. "Is there anything I can do to help with the morning sickness?" He asked softly as he glanced over to her again.

"What you've been doing has been perfect, thank you Eric. I leave tomorrow anyway." Zoë said softly and Eric nodded.

"What are you going to tell everyone?" Eric asked softly and she exhaled as she ran a hand through her hair and exhaled lightly through her nose.

"I'm not sure yet." She said softly as she looked over to him and Eric nodded.

"Who knows exactly?" Eric asked curiously while he kept his eyes on the road.

"Just you and Joe, no-one else." She said softly and Eric looked shocked.

"Alexx doesn't know?" Eric questioned and Zoë nodded as she pressed her lips together. '_I know I should tell her, I'm just afraid though. I know I'm afraid.'_ Zoë thought to herself as she clasped her hands together and then looked out of the front window.

"We only wanted to tell you two, the others will find out when we feel ready to tell them." Zoë said softly and Eric gave her a warm smile as he glanced over to her. They arrived at the scene and began to process again.

"This wasn't here yesterday; we would have definitely picked up on it." Zoë said softly as the 3 of them stood in one of the bedrooms.

"Who processed this part?" Natalia questioned.

"Walter I think, but I also looked in and processed a part of this room and this definitely wasn't here, I would have noticed it straight away, look at it – it's a blue hand print on the wall, that's pretty hard to miss." She said and they nodded as they all frowned at the print.

"We'll give the house a quick go-over and then head back to the lab with these prints?" Zoë asked and they both nodded and split, with Eric keeping close to Zoë.

10 minutes later Zoë walked over to Eric. "I'm just going to get a snack from my bag, my stomach is going again, I'll be 3 minutes tops." She said softly and he nodded.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Eric asked softly with a warm expression.

"There's no need for that sweetie, I'll be back in soon." She said softly and Eric nodded. He watched her walk away and then got on with what he was doing.

Eric walked out of the room he was processing 10 minutes later and went to look for Zoë as she hadn't returned.

"Hey, have you seen Zoë?" Eric questioned Natalia with a mild frown while Natalia crouched gathering evidence. Natalia turned to look up at him and shook his head with a soft expression.

"I thought she was with you?" Natalia questioned as she stood with a frown becoming evident on her face.

"She went to get a drink." Eric said softly as he glanced out of the room and down the hall.

"Perhaps she's just resting in the hummer? She wasn't looking too well at all." Natalia said softly and Eric nodded.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Let me know if you see her before me." Eric said softly and Natalia nodded. Eric went back to do his work and then finished what Zoë was doing and picked up her kit too and went downstairs, he expected Zoë to be in the hummer on the phone with Horatio. He opened the door to the hummer and saw that Zoë's handbag hadn't been disturbed. He turned around and then pulled his phone out just as Natalia jumped into her hummer to head back also, she'd not realised that Zoë wasn't sat in Eric's hummer either as she expected Zoë to be on the phone to Horatio too.

"Nat, Zoe's not been here." Eric shouted and she got back out of her hummer and walked over to Eric. Natalia emitted the same concern Eric was just as Eric dialled for Horatio while both looked around.

"H, it's Eric." Eric said as Horatio picked up.

"Eric, everything okay?" Horatio questioned when he heard Eric's urgency.

"Has Zoë rung you?" Eric questioned as he looked at Natalia while they exchanged deep frowns.

"No, why?" Horatio questioned calmly, but he already had a pit form in his stomach.

"She's gone, she said she was going to get a snack from her bag and I've just come down to the hummer, she's not here and she's not touched her bag." Eric said as he looked around. He looked up and down the street but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"I'll be right there." Horatio said firmly before he hung up. Horatio rushed out to his hummer and drove over to the scene as he rang Zoë's phone, just pleading her to pick it up.

"Can you hear that Delko? That's Zoë's ring tone." Natalia said and Eric nodded as they both looked around. They quickly scouted the garden to try and find her phone. It stopped ringing and they found themselves lost again until it began to ring again. They still couldn't find it but continued to look as both of their hearts began to beat fast. Eric was beginning to really panic, he knew Horatio wasn't going to be happy at all, he also knew that Zoë could be in grave danger, especially as he knew she was pregnant.

Horatio was less than a minute from the scene as he rang the second time. He pulled up just as Eric picked up her phone and turned to see Horatio rushing towards them with the phone against his ear.

"Her phone, H." Eric said as he handed it to him once Horatio brought his phone away from his ear and ended the call.

"What happened?" Horatio growled fiercely as he checked her phone and then put it in his pocket as he placed both of his hands on his hips to look around the scene.

"Is that her plimsoll?" Natalia questioned as she looked over Horatio's shoulder to the pavement. Both Horatio and Eric turned and then rushed over when they saw the black shoe just lying on the floor. Horatio picked it up and then looked up at both of them, they could see that he was distraught as well as angry. He ran his hand through his hair and placed his fists on his hips as he glared at the both of them.

"Did neither of you see nor hear anything?!" Horatio questioned forcefully and they thought to themselves and shook their heads.

"Nothing H, I thought she was on the phone to you in the hummer." Eric begged as he shook his head more. Natalia swallowed and looked up at Horatio.

"I saw a black van drive off as I was by the window, I didn't see Zoë at all though, I didn't even know she'd gone downstairs." Natalia said as she swallowed and looked up at Horatio.

"Details." Horatio snapped and Natalia quickly gave him the details. "Get back to the lab, Natalia and track that van now," Horatio said as he walked away and pulled Zoë's handbag from Eric's hummer.

"I'm sorry H." Eric said as he shook his head while Natalia rushed over to her hummer and jumped in. She pulled away immediately and put out a BOLO matching the description of the van he had seen outside the house.

"It's not your fault, Eric." Horatio said quietly as he walked back over to his hummer. Eric got into his and then drove off behind Horatio in the opposite direction to Natalia.

"H, I've put out a BOLO for the van, we'll find her, Natalia has as well, they aren't going to get far, I promise." Eric said over the radio but Horatio remained silent. Eric swallowed and knew Horatio was tearing himself up. Not only was Zoë in danger, but the baby too. "H, you need to slow down, I can't keep up." Eric said as he looked back down at the speed he was doing, they were doing almost double the speed limit.

"We do not have time, Eric. She could be in anyone's hands." Horatio growled over the radio just as Natalia's voice appeared and gave them a location of the van. Horatio and Eric put their foot down more and headed towards the direction of the van. They caught up with it but it accelerated as they tried to pull it over.

"Zoë!" Horatio yelled as he saw the van losing control and swerving side to side just as they were coming up to a bridge that crossed the main road below. Horatio got right up behind the van with inches between his bumper and the back of the van. He saw the van swerve before it fully come off the road and began to roll. Horatio pulled to a sharp stop as he watched the van roll down the grassy verge. They saw the van on its side as it came to halt in the middle of the main road below. He and Eric jumped out of their hummers and made their way down the verge as they called for ambulances and backup. Horatio had just put his right foot on the concrete at the bottom as a car drove straight into the roof of the van on its side. He froze as his eyes widened. He felt his heart skip beats in his chest as sheer panic enveloped his entire being.

"Zoë!" Horatio yelled as he glanced up the road to see the cars halting, causing a slight delay. "Zoë!" Horatio yelled again as he pulled on the two large back doors at the back of the van. "Get him Eric." Horatio shouted when he saw the perpetrator trying to get out. Eric quickly had him in cuffs while Horatio crawled into the back of the van and saw Zoë lying on her back. His breathing was quick and deep as he panicked about her.

"Zoe? Zoë, sweetheart?" Horatio questioned as he got closer to her on his hands and knees.

"H, is she okay?!" Eric questioned frantically as he too crawled into the back of the van on his hands and knees. Horatio glanced back at him with a deep frown.

"What have you done with the driver?" Horatio questioned firmly as he opened Zoë's eyes when he looked back to her.

"A patrol car just pulled up as they were driving, they're holding him and checking on the driver of the other car that crashed into this." Eric said as he crouched at Zoë's feet. Eric swallowed as he looked up at Zoë.

"Zoë, can you hear me?" Horatio called loudly as he placed his hands around her neck to feel the back of it.

"Mmm" she groaned as she raised one of her arms and began to squirm.

"Stay still for me sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he took hold of her hand when he released her neck. "Is there an ambulance on the way?" Horatio questioned as he raised his other hand to her hair and began to lightly play with it to keep her calm and Eric nodded as Horatio glanced back to him.

"H, she's bleeding." Eric said as he looked down at her thighs. Horatio looked down and saw blood in between her legs. He thought his heart had stopped as terror filled it.

"No! Zoë, you're going to be fine sweetheart." Horatio said as he placed his hands on her stomach and tried to feel for anything. He pulled her shirt up and out of her trousers before he placed both hands on her lower abdomen and tried his best to feel around, but couldn't feel anything. "You're going to be fine, Zoë." Horatio said loudly, but Eric could hear his worry and disbelief in his voice. Eric couldn't help but feel helpless, guilty and incredibly bad for the both of them. Horatio looked back down at the blood as it spread further down her legs and created a pool below her. Horatio ran one hand through his hair as he began to hyperventilate himself. "You're going to be fine, you're both going to be fine." Horatio panicked as he bent down and placed his ear to her stomach to see if he could hear anything at all.

"Mmm" she groaned again as she moved more. Horatio said back up and placed his left hand on her abdomen while he placed his other on her shoulder and looked down at her.

"Zoë, it's Horatio. Can you hear me?" Horatio questioned and she moaned again. "You're okay sweetheart, help is on its way." Horatio said softly as he gently rubbed her stomach and played with her hair after removing his hand from her shoulder.

"Mmm" she groaned as she took hold of Horatio's hand on her stomach and pulled it away as she raised both of her knees and groaned again. Eric swallowed when he saw how big the blood pool was. He felt a dark pit form in his stomach as he took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, are you hurting?" Horatio questioned and she nodded with a moan as she began to breathe rapidly. "You're going to be okay, you're both going to be fine." Horatio said as he placed his other hand on her arm and leant down closer to her.

"She's losing a lot of blood, H." Eric said quietly. Horatio looked over to him and then down at her legs and saw the blood pool getting bigger. "I can smell petrol as well, we need to get her out of here." Eric said and Horatio nodded as he looked back to Zoë. He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair.

"Sweetheart, we're going to get you out of here, stay calm for me sweetheart, I've got you." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she reached over and took hold of his jacket while she clenched her eyes closed. Horatio felt just as pained as her expression. "Can you hold the top door open please?" Horatio questioned and Eric nodded as he got up and held the top door open as Horatio lifted Zoë into his arms. He shuffled out of the van on his knees and then stood once he got out. "I know I shouldn't move you sweetheart, but there's petrol around, I needed to get you to safety." Horatio said as she squirmed in his arms.

"Horatio?" She questioned quietly as she looked up at him and he nodded as he looked down at her and then carried her up the road a little away from the van. Eric followed as Zoë looked up at Horatio and blinked a few times.

"You're going to be fine, Zoë." Horatio said, but was really begging her to be fine.

"I know, I'm good." She said softly after she took a deep breath. She looked like she'd calmed down completely. "My thigh hurts." She said as she looked up at him and Eric placed his hand on her shoulder. Horatio exhaled and looked down at her with pained eyes.

"I don't want to alarm you sweetheart, and I need you to stay calm, but you're bleeding quite a lot. We're going to have to go to hospital, okay? Don't panic though, please." Horatio said softly while he held her in his arms.

"Where am I bleeding? I don't hurt too much." She said softly as she kept eye contact with him at all times to keep herself calm.

"There's blood on your thighs." Horatio said softly and then swallowed, he knew she wasn't going to take the news well. She finally broke the eye contact when she looked down at herself and then began to hyperventilate. She looked back up at Horatio with a terrorised expression.

"Horatio! No! Horatio stop it! Stop it please!" She screamed just as two paramedics ran over to them with a bed.

"Zoë, stay calm sweetheart, you and bean will be fine." Horatio said as he placed her down on the bed delicately.

"Horatio!" She cried as she placed her hand over her stomach and pulled him closer as she looked up at him panicked.

"Ma'am we need you to calm down, can you tell us your name?" One of the paramedics said.

"Forget about me! My baby! Save my baby please!" She screamed before she hysterically cried. She removed her hands from Horatio and her stomach to cover her face and eyes.

"How many weeks pregnant are you?" The elder paramedic questioned as they wheeled her over to the ambulance.

"7 weeks!" She cried as she grabbed Horatio's shirt as they got her into the back of the ambulance.

"What's her name?" The younger paramedic asked Horatio who was managing to stay very calm but it was clear that he was distraught.

"Zoë Caine, she's 28, she has asthma and a pacemaker." Horatio said and the paramedic nodded appreciatively.

"Who are you?" He questioned.

"Horatio Caine, her husband." Horatio replied and he nodded again as they quickly cut her trousers off.

"What happened?" The younger paramedic asked.

"She was in the van, I had to get her out as petrol was beginning to leak." Horatio said and they nodded.

"Okay, Mrs Caine can you tell me if you hurt anywhere?" The elder paramedic questioned.

"No!" She growled as she lifted her head and glared at him. Horatio exhaled and sat down beside her on the seat.

"Zoë, calm down sweetheart, you need to stay calm. They're trying to help you." Horatio said softly as he moved closer and took hold of her hand.

"I'm fine, I feel fine really, I just want our baby to be fine and safe, Horatio." She said as she looked over to him and he nodded.

"We need to put this collar on you Mrs Caine, can you try and lie as still as you can?" The younger male said warmly.

"No! Just get me to the hospital where they can check my baby out." She growled as she pushed the collar away and glared at him fiercely.

"You could have serious injuries that are being masked by the adrenaline, ma'am." He said softly as he continued to look at her warmly.

"Get me to that hospital now!" She raised her voice as she tightened her grip on Horatio's hand.

"Zoë, take a deep breath sweetheart." Horatio said as he stroked the back of her hand lightly.

"I feel fine! They're not listening to me!" Zoë said as she looked at Horatio and he sighed.

"Ma'am can you please raise your knees and open your legs, I need to check where this blood is coming from." The older paramedic asked softly.

"Shut the bloody door then! I don't want the whole world seeing me with my legs open! Do you not know anything about patient privacy!" She shouted as she continued to hyperventilate. They looked at her and saw the burning hot fire in her eyes.

"Ma'am we need you to calm down, or we'll have to sedate you. You could have a serious head injury that could be causing this agitation." The older paramedic said calmly.

"How do you expect me to remain calm? I could be losing my second baby right now while you're pissing away these precious seconds and telling me to calm down?! If you listened to your patients and respected my privacy I wouldn't be so bloody agitated right now. I have not got a head injury." She growled and both paramedics swallowed before they glanced to Horatio. "I will drive myself to that hospital if we are not moving within the next minute." She warned lowly and all 3 men could see that she was serious.

"Okay ma'am, we'll go now just try and calm down for us please." The older man said as he pulled the doors closed as he got out and jumped into the drivers' seat.

"Finally, thank you!" She said as the younger male moved closer to her as he maintained his warm expression.

"Ma'am, can you open your legs please, I need to see where this blood is coming from and I need to stop it if I can." He said and Zoë looked up at him and then pulled Horatio from the seat and closer to her as she looked up at the paramedic. The paramedic saw the fear in both of their eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

She slowly moved into position for him and he cleared up the blood quickly while the ambulance weaved through the light traffic, fast.

"Ma'am, this blood isn't coming from your uterus, there's a shard of metal that has embedded itself in your upper inner thigh that is causing this blood loss, I believe your baby is fine." He said and she took a deep breath. She exhaled steadily as she put her head back and closed her eyes as relief flooded through her body. She immediately relaxed and then looked over to Horatio who looked just as relieved as her.

"Horatio you look." She said as she looked up at him and he moved away from her briefly and looked at where the paramedic was working as he bandaged up the wound on her thigh. Zoë held her head up while she studied Horatio's expression.

"He's right sweetheart." Horatio said softly and she put her head back again as she took another deep breath.

"Thank you" she said as she looked up at him and he nodded when he saw her beginning to relax properly. The bleeding was stemmed before the paramedic placed his hands over her stomach.

"Does that hurt?" He asked softly.

"Not really, my muscles just ache." She said and he nodded and then checked her head and eyes once she allowed him and then checked her arms and legs. He was happy that she was stable. The doors opened at the back after the paramedic pulled a blanket up and over her and Nathan hopped in.

"Eric called, are you okay? He said you were losing a lot of blood." He asked and she nodded with a gentle smile. The paramedics then updated Nathan as they walked with Zoë through to majors. Nathan gave her the quick once over before he stepped back with a gentle smile.

"Okay Zoë, what I'm going to do first of all is use this Doppler, we should be able to hear baby's heartbeat now." Nathan said warmly and she nodded as Nathan sat on the side of the bed.

"Don't you need an ultrasound?" Zoë questioned as she gripped Horatio's hand.

"No, but if there's something not right about the heartbeat then you'll have an ultrasound up on maternity." Nathan said warmly and Zoë nodded as she pulled her top up and allowed him to check it out. "Everything's fine, baby's heartbeat is very healthy." He said softly and Zoë relaxed as she exhaled a long breath.

"We need to get this metal out, would you like me to get a female doctor?" Nathan questioned warmly.

"No, stop asking about a female doctor please. You know I'll never say yes. Just work your doctor magic, please Nathan." Zoë said as she exhaled and closed her eyes briefly.

"Okay, I'm sorry Zoë, but I have to ask you." He said warmly and then checked the wound out after she nodded. "The metal hasn't hit anything major, it's literally only gone in a couple of millimetres and is lying virtually horizontal under your skin which is causing more blood loss. Do you want some local anaesthetic?" Nathan asked softly and she nodded. He quickly came back with a needle and she took hold of Horatio's hand.

"You're okay sweetheart." He said softly as he ran his other hand through her hair as Nathan injected the anaesthetic around the wound.

"Where are those paramedics? Are they still here?" Zoë questioned and Nathan nodded as he looked up at them. "Can you get them while the anaesthetic works please?" She asked and he nodded and pulled the blanket up and over her. They walked through to her cubical with gentle expressions after Nathan.

"I'd like to apologise, I really am so sorry for the way I acted and the way I spoke to the both of you, you were trying to help. If there's anything I can do to repay the both of you then please ask, I'm so sorry." She said as she looked up at them apologetically.

"Not a problem ma'am, we understand, you thought you were losing your baby, it's understandable for you to get defensive." The older man said softly and Zoë swallowed as she looked down as she nodded.

"We really do understand, we know you were panicking, we know that you were only looking out for your baby, that's instinct. I understand that you lost your first baby so your actions and words were justified. I've lost a baby with my wife, so I completely understand." The younger paramedic said softly and Zoë swallowed and she nodded and tried to push the tears back.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She said quietly as she looked up at him with a sympathetic expression.

"How many weeks were you?" He asked softly.

"19." Zoë said as she pulled on Horatio's arm to pull him closer.

"My wife was 7 weeks." He said quietly.

"How did you lose your baby?" She asked and Horatio began to panic because he knew if that paramedic told her she'd panic about the same thing.

"Zoë, I need to get that metal out of your leg now sweet." Nathan said as he stopped the paramedic from answering. She looked up at Horatio as Nathan shook his head at the paramedic and the paramedic understood.

"I hope you both have a healthy baby, good luck." He said softly and they nodded.

"Thank you again." Zoë said and he gave her a warm smile and then walked out with his partner.

"Does that hurt?" Nathan asked as he touched the wound lightly with his gloved hand.

"No." She replied and he nodded.

"Okay, Horatio, you might want to look away now, this isn't going to be very nice." Nathan said and Horatio looked down to Zoë and moved his head closer to hers and rubbed her nose with his.

"I'm not going back to work, Horatio. I'm going in tomorrow to speak with IAB, but that's it." She said softly and Horatio nodded in total agreement.

"I'm going to cut my hours, I'll do half a week." He said softly and she nodded.

"Thank you." She said softly as she nodded and then kissed him. Nathan had got the metal out of her leg and stitched her up in the time they took to keep each other calm.

"You're free to go, Zoë. Keep it clean and don't go back to work today. I'll be back with a pair of scrubs for you." He said softly and she gave him a nod and a smile. He returned with the scrubs and she quickly pulled them on and thanked Nathan and said bye to him, Horatio did the same. They then got a taxi to the lab just as Horatio got a phone call from IAB, asking him where he was and why he wasn't at work. Horatio quickly hung up as he got frustrated.

"I'm not waiting until tomorrow, I'm going to give them an earful now." She said as she walked away from their car and into the lab where Eric quickly walked over to them.

"How are you? You're not working, are you?" Eric questioned and she shook her head with a gentle expression, but he could see that Zoë was on a mission.

"I'm fine, the blood was coming from a piece of metal in my thigh, not from my womb or anything. The baby is fine, we even got to hear his or her heartbeat." She said softly and he nodded with a pleased smile. He then looked up at Horatio as Horatio looked warmly at Zoë.

"IAB is looking for you, Horatio." Eric said softly and Horatio nodded as he looked down briefly.

"Ah, Detective and Lieutenant Caine." A loud smug voice called and they turned to see a large man walking towards them. Both Horatio's and Zoë's eyes hardened as they studied the man in a navy blue suit walking towards them with a plain black tie.

"Sergeant Ways." Horatio said lowly and Eric felt the atmosphere tense up so he quickly left, he knew not to get in the middle of anything between them.

"Get back to work Detective, this is between Lieutenant and myself." He said with a displeased expression.

"I've been given doctors' orders not to work today." She growled at him with fiery eyes. She stepped closer to him with an intimidating stance and firm lips. "I've actually come here to tell you how close I came to dying because of you! What did I tell you over the phone?! I told you that your head will be taken if any harm came to me." She growled as she squared up to him, allowing her intense stare to pierce his. Natalia, Walter, Frank and the lab techs stopped what they were doing and looked over at the commotion that was forming.

"Put her on her leash Horatio." He said calmly as he looked up at Horatio. Horatio then stepped closer too with firm lips and an intense stare.

"Zoë is not coming back to work, I don't care what you do to me, you can put me on suspension if you'd like because that's exactly what I want at this moment in time." Horatio growled with tight lips.

"If that's what you want you're not getting it." The sergeant said with a smug grin.

"I am cutting my hours by half and there is nothing you can do about it, if you have a problem, you can bring it up with the chief, but you leave my wife alone." Horatio growled as he stepped up to the larger man again.

"I'll have you both fired." He growled as he scowled at the both of them.

"You can try, but that won't work." Horatio replied lowly as he tilted his head and allowed his icy glare to bore into his eyes.

"Stop with the empty fucking threats you twat! If we weren't in the middle of the lab right now I would beat the shit out of you and show you just how I feel after being kidnapped and being thrown around a van as it rolled down a fucking hill. Then you'd be begging to have a week off work." She growled and the atmosphere got tenser. She ignored the hisses coming from most of the crowd that had gathered; she knew they were all on her side though, she knew they'd all pay money to watch her take the cocky man down. Other staff stood where they were as their jaws slacked as they all felt shocked by what was happening in front of them.

"If you're able to stand here in front of me and threat me with things like that then I assume that you are more than capable of working." He said lightly, knowing that the lighter he was the more it annoyed Horatio and Zoë.

"You know what? I'm sick and tired of you lot always sticking your noses in other people's business and thinking you know best. You don't know half of what goes on. If you lot carry on, I will have my lawyers on your case so I suggest that you back down now because you do not know what you're getting yourself into." She growled fiercely, everyone could hear the determination in her voice as the man raised his eyebrows.

"If you were not the wife of Horatio Caine, you wouldn't be getting this special treatment. I will make it my mission to see you both get what you deserve." He growled back at her.

"You're a fucking bastard, you know that don't you? I am getting that special treatment because I am in constant danger here; I've lost my baby due to this fucking job! You know what? I QUIT, are you happy now? I am walking out now. If you give Horatio any shit for this, I will find your house and I will give you more shit than you can handle, and yes that is a threat and it's a threat I _will_ keep. Your life will become a misery and you won't be able to stop it because I won't get caught, this department hasn't seen the best of what I can do yet, I am more than capable of making your life hell." She shouted as she walked away from them and held her frustrated tears back. "And you know what? I'm cutting your funding and pooling it into another department - I hope you lose your job, hopefully you won't be able to pay for the treatment of your syphilis you got from that prostitute they caught outside your house. Yeah, that's right, everyone – Sergeant Ways here has syphilis, that's not even the tip of the ice berg either." She shouted and he looked at her with wide eyes. The entire department looked back to him, including Horatio who now had a smug grin. "A lot of your funding comes from Horatio and myself as we wanted to make the crime division better. So fuck you." Zoë shouted as she turned back around to face both Horatio and the Sergeant while Horatio glared at him after he rid the grin of his face when he realised just how upset Zoë was. She then put both of her middle fingers up at him before she turned back and continued to walk back over to the lift. The lab was silent as every single person had stopped and frozen.

"You've just lost one of the best CSI's this division has seen and will ever see, you really are an idiot." Horatio growled as he walked away and followed Zoë to the lift. Sergeant Ways just stood there as his mouth dropped open slightly, he'd realised that he'd gone and stepped in it. Horatio pushed the grown level button as he boarded the lift as Zoë took a deep breath.

"I quit Horatio, I actually just quit." She said as she looked up at him and then hugged his arm as she wiped her eyes quickly with her hand.

"It's for the best Zoë, don't worry, you made the right decision and you made your point very clear to IAB and that son of a bitch. Things will get better, we can now properly focus on our family."

Horatio said softly and she nodded as she wiped her eyes with her left hand.

"Thank you, Horatio. I was so close to slapping that bastard." She said softly as she looked up at him, having cooled herself down.

"He thought you were too, I think he will be off our backs for a while now anyway. I think he's realised that you are not to be messed with as well. We'll cut their funding, but we'll still keep them afloat and I'll suggest who they can let go, they'll listen as we're the ones providing the money." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a light giggle. "Let's go home, eat, walk, relax, bath and then bed?" Horatio asked softly as he looked down at her with soft eyes.

"Sounds like a wonderful afternoon, just what I want and need." She said softly and he nodded with a smile. They took each other's hands and walked out to enjoy their afternoon together.

They got into bed that evening and Horatio knew that something was bothering Zoë.

"Talk to me sweetheart, I know there's something on your mind." Horatio said softly as he lightly rubbed her stomach while she laid on her back and he on his side.

"I'm just really scared Horatio, especially after today, I mean, we nearly lost little bean again. I think if I lost another baby, I would take my life and that's just scaring me even more. I don't want to do that to you, but I know I'd take my life because I'm a coward, I won't be able to live with myself after losing another baby." She said as she looked up at him.

"We're not going to lose little bean, Zoe. I promised you that I will protect you both, now you're not working, it makes it easier. Both of you are safe, you always will be. I think maybe it'll be a good idea to get in touch with your therapist again? She can probably help with these thoughts and feelings." Horatio said softly and reassuringly.

"I know handsome, but there's only so much you can do. There's a limit as to what you can do, and there's hundreds of criminals out there who will try and beat you down, to do that they need to get at me and bean. I'm not seeing her again, she made me feel like a child, I don't need that, not right now." She said before she swallowed. Horatio took a deep breath because he knew that was true – he could only do so much.

"Do you want to move?" Horatio asked and she looked into his eyes as she turned her head fully. "We can move country; we can live in a rural area, with a low crime rate where no-one knows us. I will do anything to make you feel safe sweetheart." Horatio said seriously.

"I don't want to move country just yet, but thank you Horatio, it really does mean a lot to me to know that you'd give up everything to try and make me feel safe." She said softly as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"We can move sweetheart, we can get a bigger and better house, with the same security system in place and we can have security guards if necessary, if that makes you feel comfortable then I'd get a hundred security guards." Horatio said softly and she smiled sweetly. It made her heart melt to hear Horatio telling her what he would do if she wanted.

"I want to stay put for now please, I think if we moved, I'd panic more because I won't know the house or anything. I'd be absolutely terrified if you left me in a new house, even if there were a couple of security guards and Skyler in place." She said softly and Horatio nodded with a gentle smile.

"How about I put a patrol car outside?" Horatio asked softly and she could see the potential.

"Can we try that please?" She asked and Horatio nodded as he moved closer and then lightly rubbed his nose against hers.

"Thank you." She said with a small smile as she placed a light kiss on his lips. They both closed their eyes for a little while.

"That paramedics wife lost her baby in her 7th week, what if I'm the same?" Zoë questioned and Horatio opened his eyes and sighed quietly while she opened hers.

"You're not going to be the same, sweetheart, you're going to be absolutely fine." Horatio said softly as he nuzzled her shoulder when she looked back up at the ceiling.

"How do you know that though?" Zoë questioned quietly.

"Because we have an excellent midwife keeping a very close eye on you, we have our little angel up in heaven looking over us and you are amazing, our baby is going to be with us so soon because he or she can't way to meet their Mummy." Horatio said softly and she looked at him as tears began to fall.

"Bean can't wait to meet their Daddy too. You're… you're just so amazing Horatio. I am the luckiest woman alive to have you." She cried softly as she hugged him tightly once she rolled onto her side.

"Don't cry sweetheart." Horatio said warmly as he ran his fingers through her hair as he pulled her over to him when he rolled onto his back and hugged her closely while she laid on him.

"They're now happy tears Horatio, you make me so happy." She said softly and Horatio smiled as he held her close. He pressed his lips to her forehead and kissed her a few times as they closed their eyes and concentrated on holding each other. "I've got to go to the loo now handsome." She said softly and he released her and gave her a nod. She got up and walked out as she dried her tears. She came back out with a warm smile. "I'll be right back, I'm hungry again." She said softly as she headed for the bedroom door.

"Get some rest, sweetheart, I'll make you something, cheese sandwich?" He asked softly as he sat up and got out of bed.

"Please, and a packet of ready salted crisps?" She asked and he nodded with a smile as she walked back over to the bed.

"Thank you Kitten." She said as she rubbed her stomach while he walked out. She heard him down in the kitchen and then got up and walked over to the mirror again. She pulled her top up and rubbed her stomach as she looked at it warmly.

"I reckon I'll be in leggings by week 10 at this rate." She said as Horatio came back up and walked into the bedroom. He smiled sweetly and looked down to her abdomen before his smile sweetened.

"You are a lot bigger this time, I will agree." Horatio said softly and she pulled her top back down and got into bed with him.

"Perhaps I'm just really fat for no reason." She said softly and he chuckled and then handed her the plate and crisps as he put his cup of tea on the side. "Thank you Horatio." She said as they flicked the TV on.

"I can't believe I'm 8 weeks on Saturday, it's like it's flying past already!" She smiled and Horatio nodded as he placed his hand on her thigh and smiled at her. "Can I have a sip of your tea please?" She asked and he nodded as he handed it to her. '_She won't like it.'_ Horatio thought to himself.

"Eww, no sugar." She smiled as she handed it back to him and he smiled with a light chuckle.

"I knew you wouldn't like it." He said softly as he held the mug in his right hand while he lightly rubbed her thigh with his left.

"Thank you anyway." She smiled and then let him finish the mug. They slunk down into the bed and then began to relax.

"Can we turn? So you're spooning me please? I'm uncomfortable like this but I want to be close to you." She said softly and he nodded with a smile. She laid on her left side as Horatio moved closer and put his arm around her stomach and gently stroked her abdomen as he laid on his left side as he took in the scent of her hair. They both fell asleep, Horatio woke early that morning when Zoë let out a few moans and then began to squirm. She quickly woke and then looked over to Horatio and exhaled. She reached over and ran her hand through his hair, he could see that she seemed distressed.

"Bad dream?" He asked tiredly as he rubbed her abdomen.

"More of a freakishly bizarre one…" she said as she frowned.

"Want to talk about it?" Horatio asked softly.

"I'm not sure you want to know about it, it's weird." She said quietly as she gave him a half-smile and slight frown at the same time.

"Talk to me sweetheart. We know it's good to talk about weird dreams." Horatio said softly as he kissed her shoulder and closed his eyes as he pulled her closer again.

"I dreamt that I gave birth… but it wasn't a baby that came out, it was you." She said as she turned over and looked up at him in the darkness, all she could make out was his silhouette.

"You gave birth to me?" Horatio asked and she nodded.

"I told you it was weird." She said softly as she ran her hand through his hair again.

"You know your dreams can get slightly weird during pregnancy sweetheart, it's fine." Horatio said softly and then placed a kiss on her lips.

"Can we get a book that describes the usual dreams pregnant women have? It probably means something. It probably means that I really want a boy and I want our son to look like you and be your exact copy or something." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded as he lightly caressed her back.

"We'll go into town tomorrow afternoon to pick it up." Horatio said softly and she nodded, then kissed him and rolled back onto her side as Horatio rubbed her stomach more and then fell asleep.

XXXXXXXX

The next Wednesday morning arrived and Horatio was woken by Zoë again as she got up for the loo before the alarm went off. He heard her throwing up again and quickly went to get her a mug of ginger tea with two ginger biscuits.

"Thank you Kitten." She called from the bathroom when she caught a waft of ginger coming from the bedroom.

"How are you feeling?" He asked softly as he walked in to the bathroom.

"Erugh" she groaned and he chuckled lightly.

"That bad?" he asked and she nodded.

"Why am I feeling so sick now when I was virtually unaffected with Maya?" She questioned looking drained and tired as she sat back and looked up at him.

"It's different every time sweetheart, the tea and biscuits should help though." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she slowly climbed to her feet.

"Thank you, I'll be right through, I think I'm finished now." She said softly and he nodded and left her to brush her teeth.

"You've got a dentist appointment on Friday, sweetheart, shall I put it in the calendar?" Horatio asked softly as she appeared at the en-suite door.

"Please." She said as she walked out and then climbed into bed as Horatio picked up her phone and put it on the calendar on her phone. She quickly picked up the mug and took a deep whiff of the ginger tea to try and settle her stomach. "You're not working Friday, are you?" She asked softly as she looked over to him and then took a sip.

"No sweetheart, I'll come along to the dentist if you'd like?" Horatio asked softly and she nodded.

"Thank you." She said softly and he gave her a smile. "Have IAB been on your tail for taking time off?" She asked softly.

"No, they've left me alone completely and they have fired Tim." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a gentle smile.

"Thank you for this Horatio, I'm glad we've found something that actually settles my stomach for a little while." She said softly and he smiled at her. He quickly turned and pulled a couple of tissues from the box and placed them under her nose when he saw a blood droplet.

"I should tell Val about these nose bleeds, I know it's normal for women to get nose bleeds when pregnant as blood vessels are changing and because of hormones, but it could be something to do with my heart, couldn't it?" She asked softly as she took the tissue and held it to her nose as Horatio took the mug from her hand.

"I think it's best sweetheart." Horatio said softly and she gave him a small smile. Horatio quickly handed her more tissues when the tissue she had quickly became blood soaked. He frowned when the next lot of tissues became soaked again. "You're bleeding quite bad, sweetheart." Horatio frowned as he handed her yet more tissues before he threw the blood soaked tissue away and then got up to wash his hands.

"Should we give someone a call if it carries on?" Zoë asked.

"We'll give it another minute to sort itself out." Horatio said as he walked back into the bedroom and Zoë nodded. She reached over and picked more tissues up as she felt the blood soaking through the tissue again. She got up and threw the bloody tissue away but quickly froze where she was when she felt her head spinning.

"Horatio" she called as she reached over to the chest of draws and leant against them. He looked over to her and then rushed over to her. "I'm feeling really dizzy." She said as she looked up at him. He noticed that she'd become incredibly pale and it was clear that she was growing weaker.

"Okay sweetheart, come and sit down, stay calm." He said warmly as he aided her walking over to the bed. She still held the tissue against her nose while she slowly sat down on the bed with Horatio before he gently got her to lean forwards and put her head between her legs. "Well done sweetheart, we'll give Val a call in a moment." Horatio said warmly as he rubbed her back lovingly. "Sweetheart?" Horatio asked when she didn't reply. He looked down and saw that she'd dropped the bloody tissue and that blood was falling from her nose at a slower rate and falling to her foot. He quickly got up once he realised she'd passed out completely and picked her legs up and laid her on her side on the bed. He held her in the recovery position while he held more tissue under her nose and took a deep breath. She quickly came back around to him and fluttered her eyes open.

"Horatio?" She asked quietly as her eyes half-closed.

"You're okay sweetheart, you've passed out. You're fine." Horatio said warmly as he pulled the tissue away from her nose and saw that the bleeding had stopped. He threw the tissues away and then ran his fingers over her cheek. "How are you feeling sweetheart?" Horatio asked warmly.

"Marvellous." She replied as she exhaled and looked up at him.

"I'm going to call Val, okay?" Horatio asked and Zoë exhaled.

"I had a nosebleed and passed out, that's not uncommon, handsome." She said quietly with a dry mouth.

"I know sweetheart, but it's better to be safer than sorry. As they both happened at the same time, I'm thinking that your blood pressure needs to be checked out." Horatio said warmly and she then nodded as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. He reached over to her side and picked up her phone and dialled for the midwife.

"Hello, is that Val?" Horatio questioned as Zoë rolled onto her back and crossed her forearm over her eyes as she listened to the one sided conversation.

"Hi Val, it's Horatio Caine, I'm calling about Zoë Caine." Horatio said warmly as he lifted her top and began to lightly rub her stomach.

"Yes, well Zoë's just had a very heavy nose bleed and passed out at the same time despite putting her head between her legs. We just thought it's best to speak to you about this." He said warmly as he looked down at Zoë and continued to rub her stomach.

"She's experiencing fatigue, but nothing severe, just general tiredness." Horatio said warmly.

"Yeah? Okay, we'll head to the hospital. Thank you." Horatio said before he hung up.

"She'd like to see us sweetheart; she just wants some bloods and wants to check your blood pressure." Horatio said softly and Zoë nodded as she removed her arm from her eyes.

"What would you like to wear?" Horatio asked warmly as he got up.

"I'm having a shower first." Zoë said lightly as she sat up and then looked down to her foot to see the dried blood.

"I don't advise that, Zoë." Horatio said as he placed a hand on his hip.

"I've got blood on my foot, I need a shower. 2 minutes tops, you can even come in if you want." Zoë said softly as she got up and walked into the en-suit with Horatio following.

Horatio changed into his usual attire while Zoë stared at the wardrobe.

"I have nothing to wear." She said as she stood at the door and Horatio couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"I think you have more clothes than most of the women on this street put together." Horatio said softly with a smile.

"Yeah, but I still have nothing to wear." She sighed.

"Jeans and sleeveless top?" Horatio asked and she nodded.

"I'll give it a go." She said as she pulled out a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a burgundy sleeveless top. She put them on the bed and then pulled her underwear on and then adjusted her breasts into a comfortable position. She then pulled up the jeans and began to do the zip up, but couldn't. "I can't do the button or zip up over my belly." She said as she looked up at Horatio.

"How about the ones that have a lower waist?" Horatio asked and she nodded with a smile forming. '_I didn't think of that!'_ She thought to herself with a smile.

"Good idea, I swear this baby is eating my common sense… well, the little common sense I have anyway." She smiled as she pulled them off and put them back in their place and then pulled a same style pair of skinny jeans and done them up with ease as they didn't go as high as her belly. Horatio chuckled lightly as he sorted his shirt out. "Can you tell that I'm pregnant?" Zoë asked once she put her top on and looked up at him with inquisitive eyes.

"No sweetheart, you're not seeing anyone today anyway." Horatio said softly as he admired her.

"I know, but people know my face from TV and then rumours start and then somehow the team will find out. I can see it happening now. I don't want the public knowing as that will mean that the criminals will find out and that is not something I want happening at all." She said softly and Horatio nodded with a small smile, he could also see it happening.

"Walter is always asking if you're coming back and how you're doing, Natalia does too. They're all really missing you actually." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a smug smile.

"We'll tell them when I really start to show. I'm still not too comfortable with them knowing." She said softly and Horatio nodded. She took a deep breath and looked to the bed.

"Are you okay sweetheart? Do you need to sit down?" Horatio questioned and she looked up at him with a gentle smile.

"No, I'm good, I just need something to eat now. All that thinking about what to wear has worked up an appetite." She smiled and he nodded as she tied her hair up. She had some fruit as well as cereal while Horatio had his usual coffee.

"What time are you going to work after seeing Val?" Zoë asked warmly.

"At 12, but if you want me to stay home, I can." He said softly.

"Okay Kitten, I only ask because I'm seeing Joe later, we're doing some shopping as I saw some lovely leggings when we were in town last but I was too tired to go and get them and he needs some new shirts. Is that okay?" She asked softly.

"Of course sweetheart, but as long as you're feeling alright, take the Porsche and ring me if you need anything. I'll have a patrol officer with you, is that okay?" He asked and she nodded.

"Thank you." She smiled sweetly. They then drove over to the hospital and walked in to go and see Val as Zoë snacked on something else.

"Zoë, Horatio." A man called from behind them as they walked through the corridor. They both stopped and turned to see Nathan walking over to them. "Sorry, how are you doing? Val called to say you were coming in." Nathan said warmly as he walked over to them.

"I'm alright, just a quick check up as I passed out and had a nose bleed at the same time." Zoë said softly as she lightly rubbed her stomach and Nathan nodded.

"Okay, well let me know how you get on, yeah?" Nathan asked softly with a gentle smile.

"Actually, could you please come with us? Just for the first part. I'm sure I'll be okay with Val, but it'll calm my initial nerves. Only if you're free though." Zoë asked softly before she took another bite of the cereal bar.

"Of course, as long as Horatio's comfortable with that." Nathan said as he looked up at Horatio who nodded.

"Thank you, I just want you there for the first few minutes until I relax around her again." Zoë said softly and Nathan nodded and then walked with her.

"How are you feeling in general?" Nathan asked with a smile as she threw the wrapper into a bin.

"Fat." She smiled and he chuckled warmly with Horatio.

"I can't see any fat anywhere." Nathan smiled sweetly as they turned onto an empty corridor.

"Tell me that now." She smiled as she lifted her top and looked down at her stomach, which caused him to look down at her stomach. "That is not 8 weeks pregnant, is it?" She chuckled and Nathan's eyebrows rose.

"Wow, you look about 10 weeks." Nathan said softly as she dropped her top again.

"I know right, Horatio and I have been talking about that." She smiled as they neared the end of the corridor where Val's room was. "But then again, I've been eating so much, I will eat almost anything we have in our cupboards, even if it's a tin of sweetcorn… I will eat it." She chuckled as they came to a halt outside Val's door. Zoë's body language immediately changed as she moved closer to Horatio. Nathan stepped forwards and knocked on the door, he entered when Val called him in. Horatio followed and lightly pulled Zoë along again. Horatio then closed the door while Zoë stood behind Nathan and waited for Horatio to approach.

"Are you joining us, Nathan?" Val asked warmly.

"Just for the first part, Zoë's asked me to attend." Nathan said and Val nodded.

"Welcome, Zoë, Horatio. Zoë, would you sit down for me please?" Val asked warmly as she stood and tilted her head kindly at Zoë. Zoë took a deep breath and then moved closer to Horatio. Nathan turned back and saw that Zoë had lost the colour in her face again.

"Zoë, sit down." Nathan said as he gently took her arm and pulled her over to a chair. Horatio also helped when he realised she was getting weaker. Nathan and Horatio both rubbed her back as she put her head between her legs and maintained steady breathing.

"How are you feeling, Zoë?" Val asked warmly as she slowly approached her once she sat up.

"I'm okay, I'll feel better in a moment again." Zoë said tiredly as she sat up while Horatio reached down into her handbag and pulled out a bottle of water for her. Zoë took a few sips while Val sorted out a few things.

"Okay Zoë, I'm going to take your blood pressure and obs first, okay?" Val asked and Zoë nodded as she looked up at her. "I'm going to put the cuff on your arm okay? It's not going to hurt." Val said warmly as Zoë handed the bottle back to Horatio. Horatio took it and placed it back in her handbag. Zoë tensed as Val put the cuff on Zoë's arm. "You're doing well, Zoë." Val assured her and Zoë looked up at her. She swallowed as she looked into Val's gentle blue eyes and began to relax slightly as Val gave her a reassuring smile before she put a pulse oximeter on Zoë's finger.

"Blood pressure is good, so is your heart rate and your oxygen sats." Val said once she observed the numbers on the monitor. She pulled the cuff back off Zoë's arm as she relaxed a little more when Nathan's pager went off.

"I'm really sorry, I have to leave, are you okay here?" Nathan questioned as he put his pager back in his pocket. Zoë looked up at him and then nodded. "You're doing really well sweet, let me know how you get on later." Nathan said warmly before he quickly left after she nodded at him with a gentle smile. She swallowed and looked back to Val as she sat down behind her desk again and wrote a few things down.

"Are you eating healthily?" Val asked warmly as she looked up to Horatio and Zoë and Zoe nodded.

"Absolutely, and we're doing a 30 minute walk a day, I've been swimming twice though, I find that I'm too tired to do that and the second time I panicked because after the first few lengths I could really feel my heart going berserk and I felt lightheaded so I got straight out." Zoë said softly and Val nodded.

"Okay, I'm going to proper look at you first, then baby, okay?" Val asked softly and Zoe nodded with an easy smile, it was clear that she was feeling a lot more comfortable.

"First of all, I'm going to get blood from you, then I'll listen to your heart and lungs, okay? I may as well give you the full check instead of seeing you again in 4 weeks." She said and Zoe nodded. While Val was listening to Zoë's heart Horatio quickly put more tissue under Zoë's nose when she started to get a nosebleed again. Val quickly stopped and took her blood pressure again.

"All looks quite good, your blood pressure is slightly elevated, but that is to be expected in pregnancy." Val said softly as she looked at the notes she'd written down once she was sat at her desk again.

"I've been getting a few nose bleeds, is that to do with the blood pressure?" Zoë asked and Val looked up at her.

"I'd say it's a combination of the blood pressure rising slightly and the hormones." Val said warmly and both Zoë and Horatio nodded.

"Nothing dangerous or anything?" Zoë asked and she nodded.

"No, nothing dangerous." Val assured Zoë and Zoë nodded with a small smile.

"How are your breasts feeling?" Val questioned and Zoë looked down and took a deep breath as she pressed her lips together. "Zoë, I've been pregnant myself, I've got two grown up sons, I've been through it myself and heard it all before. You've got nothing to worry about. It's just a normal question. But if you're really not comfortable with me, I can transfer you over to another midwife." Val said softly and Zoë looked up and shook her head. She swallowed and then took hold of Horatio's hand while she looked at Val for a moment.

"They're really quite tender actually… Horatio can't touch them at all. I've tried all sorts of bras but none of them are working. They just feel so heavy and like they're full and stuff. I never had this when I was pregnant with Maya. I am now grateful for the small boobs I had before! I can't imagine what people do with massive boobs." Zoë said with a small smile and Val nodded with a warm smile, happy that Zoë was finally relaxing more and opening up to her.

"That's very normal for this stage of the pregnancy, you'll find that they'll get slightly better during your second trimester, but might get worse again when you near the end of your pregnancy." Val said warmly and Zoë nodded. "Are you getting any leakage or anything coming from your nipples?" Val asked gently.

"There was only one time, but I'm not even sure that came from my nipple." She said as she looked at Val a little puzzled.

"Where else could it have come from?" Val questioned, puzzled herself.

"Well, me being the pig that I am at the moment, I was thinking about chocolate cake drizzled in warm chocolate sauce while I ate a dry cracker and I think I dribbled." She said with a sweet expression and Val chuckled when she saw the gentle smile on Zoë's face. '_How did she just say that with keeping a straight face?'_ Val thought to herself as she glanced up to Horatio with a wide smile as Horatio lightly chuckled. "Why are they so tender and why are they so big? They weren't this big with Maya and they weren't half as tender." She said softly as she looked over to Val.

"Different pregnancies have different symptoms at different levels." Val said softly and Zoe nodded with a mild frown.

"So it is nothing to worry about?" Zoe asked and Val nodded with a reassuring nod and smile.

"Nothing to worry about." Val assured her and she relaxed as Zoe took Horatio's hand again.

"Can we see bean now?" She asked with a smile.

"I was just going to use the Doppler to listen to baby's heartbeat, if that's okay? One of our ultrasound machines has broken down and the one that I use is currently being used in another room." Val apologised and Zoë pressed her lips together and then nodded.

"Okay." Zoë said but Val could tell that Zoë wasn't too impressed. They moved over to the bed and Val drew the curtain as Zoë laid back.

"If you'd just lift your top up, please?" Val asked sweetly as she picked up the Doppler machine and then stood by the bed as Zoë pulled it up. Both Horatio and Zoë listened to the beating heart but it sounded slightly different to what it did the previous week when Nathan had checked her after the incident. Zoë watched the puzzled look fleet across Val's face.

"What?!" Zoe asked frantically.

"Don't worry, don't panic." Val assured softly as she removed the Doppler machine and placed it on the side.

"Val! What's wrong?" Zoë questioned as she squeezed Horatio's hand, both she and Horatio's minds had begun to race.

"Don't panic okay? I'm just going to get the Ultrasound machine after all, okay? Really don't panic." Val said softly and they both just looked at her horrified before she left the room.

"Horatio what's wrong?" She questioned frantically as she looked up at him. "It must be the baby's heart! It sounded different, what if our baby has a heart problem?" Zoë panicked as she looked up at Horatio.

"I don't know sweetheart, but Val said not to panic, so we shouldn't panic. She knows what she's doing." Horatio said softly as he lightly ran the backs of his fingers from the corner of her eye to the corner of her mouth lovingly.

"What if she's heard an abnormal heart beat? You can see the heartbeat at 8 weeks, that's why she wants the ultrasound!" Zoë said as she looked up at him. He took a deep breath and tried to keep himself calm as he raised her hand to his lips and looked at her affectionately.

"Try not to panic sweetheart." Horatio said as he kissed her knuckles and they heard Val walk back in with what sounded like a trolley.

"May I come in?" Val asked warmly from behind the curtain.

"Yeah!" Zoë said frantically, all she wanted was Val to get in and to check her out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Val entered with a gentle smile and then drew the curtain back again. She perched on the side of the bed and set up the machine while Horatio and Zoë looked at each other many times before looking back to Val and the machine. There was silence between them all as Zoë watched Val intensely while her heart rate had shot through the roof.

"I'm just going to put some of this gel on your stomach okay? It's cold." Val said warmly as she turned to Zoë and then placed some gel on Zoë's stomach and on the end of the hand-held device that was used to scan her stomach. Val looked down to Zoë's abdomen, then began to scan as she looked back up at the screen. Zoë's and Horatio's grip on each other's hands had tightened as they looked back to the screen. They listened as Val turned the sound back on and they heard the odd sound again which caused them both to panic more.

"Everything's okay." Val assured both Zoë and Horatio as she looked back to them.

"I'm going to be honest, if you don't tell me what's going on, I will have a heart attack." Zoë said firmly as she glared at Val. Val looked back to her with a sweet expression and then looked up at Horatio and saw the deep worry on his face too.

"I'm sorry for worrying you both, I just needed to look before I said anything." Val apologised and looked back to the screen.

"Well?" Zoë questioned firmly as she looked at Val.

"Do you see that, there?" Val asked as she pointed to the screen and then looked back to them as they both nodded.

"That is another baby, you're having twins." Val said softly and Zoë and Horatio looked to her with wide eyes as their jaws dropped.

"What?" She asked, thinking she'd mis-heard Val.

"You're having twins, Zoë." Val said softly with a warm smile as she watched the initial shock fleet across their faces, wiping their worried expressions right away.

"Oh my gosh, we're having twins?" Zoë questioned and Val nodded. She watched a beaming smile appear on Zoë's face as her eyes lit up bright like the sun. She gasped and then covered her mouth with her hand before she looked up at Horatio who also had a brilliant smile as he looked at the screen. He then looked down at her with an ecstatic expression himself before Zoë looked back to Val who had got a few pictures. "Twins?" She asked again and Val nodded with a wide smile herself. She was happy with both Horatio's and Zoë's reactions, they both seemed genuinely overjoyed by the news before Zoë's eyebrows lowered as she looked back at Val. "Why have you only just noticed this?" Zoë asked frantically.

"Well, your first scan was at 6 weeks and that is earlier than what we'd usually do. I was unable to detect a heartbeat then, which isn't entirely uncommon. I also read through your notes briefly about when you were brought in the other day and I had saw that Nathan had picked up on one heartbeat, which again, isn't uncommon as one baby is generally a little more grown than the other, but I picked up on two heartbeats just now, but I wanted to check with the ultrasound first. You have twins that are 8 weeks and 5 days old, both have a very healthy heartbeat and are looking a good size." Val explained softly and Zoë's mouth fell open again as she grinned. "Double congratulations for you both, and I'm sorry for not picking up on it before." Val said warmly with a gentle smile as she printed a scan picture for them.

"Don't apologise this is fantastic! Better late than never!" She grinned and Val handed a scan to Horatio before she handed Zoë some paper towels to wipe the gel from her stomach.

"Are they mono or dizygotic?" Zoë questioned as she wiped her stomach as Val pushed the machine away.

"They're dizygotic." Val smiled and Zoë nodded with a grin.

"That means they're non-identical?" Horatio asked and both Zoë and Val nodded at him. Zoë covered her mouth in sheer surprise and happiness.

"We could have a baby of each gender!" She smiled as Horatio looked down at the scan with a smile that he couldn't hide. Zoë pulled her top back down as Val washed her hands again and nodded at Zoë. "I'm so happy. That's why I'm so big then?" She asked and Val nodded as she dried her hands. "Thank you Val!" Zoë beamed as she quickly walked over to Val and shook her hand before she walked back over to Horatio and hugged him tightly and then looked at the picture in his hand. She gave him a kiss and then walked over to Val's desk with him, she no longer felt tired and drained, she felt so alive and happy.

"You'll need to be eating a little more now that we know you've got twins, but by the sounds and looks of it, you've already had the second baby very nourished." Val smiled and Zoe chuckled lightly, she seemed so at ease with Val now. "You should take a little more folic acid now, that's my advice anyway, don't exceed the safe dose though." Val said softly and she nodded.

"Is this why my morning sickness has been horrendous?" She asked and Val nodded.

"And perhaps why your breasts are hurting so much." Val said softly and she nodded. "How many glasses of water a day would you say you're drinking?" Val asked as she wrote a couple of notes down.

"Between 6 and 7, I know that isn't enough but I simply can't drink anymore." Zoë said softly as she lightly bit her lip and took a hold of Horatio's hand.

"Have you tried carrying a bottle of water around with you and drinking throughout the day rather than a glass here and there?" Val asked softly.

"I'll give that a go." She smiled and Val nodded. "Everything looks really good and healthy." Val said warmly and Zoë smiled brightly. "No swimming, stick to walking now, I wouldn't advise a long run, a 10 minute jog here and there shouldn't be harmful though. Try and get up slowly, drink plenty of water, eat regularly, if you have any concerns, please call me again. I will see you in about 10 weeks at your 18 week scan." Val said warmly and Zoë and Horatio nodded again with bright smiles.

"Thank you so much Val!" She smiled and stood up as Val did to shake her hand warmly.

"Take care." She smiled as she shook Horatio's hand too. Horatio put the picture in his pocket and then took hold of Zoë's hand and thanked Val again. Zoë and Horatio then exited the room and closed the door before Zoë jumped on the spot and hugged Horatio tightly.

"We're having twins, Horatio!" She beamed as she held him tightly.

"We certainly are." Horatio grinned as he rubbed her back and then kissed the side of her head. They broke from the hug and placed a light kiss on each other's lips before they started on down the corridor hand in hand.

"I feel so good right now. I don't feel tired anymore and I certainly don't feel drained." She beamed up at him with a wide smile. Horatio looked back to her with his secret smile, he was so happy to see her feeling much better. "Are you okay with twins?" Zoë asked as she looked up at him and furrowed her eyebrows.

"More than okay sweetheart, I'm ecstatic, twins is more than I could have ever hoped for. You're okay with twins, aren't you?" Horatio questioned and Zoë nodded excitedly.

"Same as you. I hope we have a boy and a girl!" Zoë grinned and Horatio nodded with a smile as they squeezed each other's hands as they made their way out. They walked through the entrance and into the bright sunlight with beaming smiles. Zoë glanced round and saw Nathan leaning against the wall as he looked up at the sky.

"Horatio, hold on." Zoë said warmly as she stopped. Horatio looked back and saw Nathan running a hand through his hair, he looked exceptionally stressed. "Come on." Zoë said as they began to walk over to Nathan. "Nathan?" Zoë called and Nathan lifted his head and looked down at them. He quickly stubbed out the cigarette he had in his hand and threw it away before swatting the smoke away. "Is everything okay?" Zoë asked compassionately as she looked up at him and he nodded with a gentle smile.

"Yeah" Nathan replied.

"No it's not, I know for a fact that you don't smoke." Zoë said as she tilted her head at him and stepped back slightly.

"You're right, I don't smoke, but I will have a cigarette when I have a difficult day. It's only ever once in a blue moon, I don't even buy them, a visitor offered it to me before they threw their packet of cigs away." Nathan admitted.

"What's wrong?" Zoë asked softly as she tilted her head.

"I just lost 3 patients, a family. I did everything I could for them, but their injuries were too extensive. But that's life. I can't save everyone." Nathan said as he took a deep breath and then exhaled steadily.

"Oh sweetie, I know you did your best for them, that's all you ever do." Zoë said as she stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Thank you Zoë, I'll be fine in a moment, it still gets to me even now after years of being a doctor. But that's my job, I've got to deal with it. There really is no need to worry about me." Nathan said warmly before Zoë pulled back and nodded at him while Horatio gave Nathan a sympathetic look. "Anyway, how are you and baby?" Nathan asked with a genuine smile tugging at his lips when he saw the smiles form on Horatio's and Zoë's faces again once they saw that Nathan was okay.

"We're great thanks, and we've just had some more amazing news." Zoë grinned at him and his smile widened.

"Are you going to share the news with me?" Nathan asked with a smile before Zoë turned to Horatio and pulled the scan from his pocket with a grin. "Don't say you bullied Val into giving you an Ultrasound? She said she was just going to use the Doppler." Nathan smiled smoothly with a cheeky grin and Zoë began to giggle.

"Hey, I don't bully anyone… much, anyway. Take a look for yourself." Zoë grinned as she handed Nathan the scan and he looked down at it. He frowned mildly at the start as he made the scan out.

"Twins?" Nathan asked as he looked up at Zoë and she nodded with a brilliant smile. A brilliant smile then appeared on Nathan's face. "Double congratulations to the both of you!" Nathan said with a thrilled smile and tone of voice.

"Thank you! They're dizygotic, we could have one of each gender!" Zoë beamed happily as she jumped on the spot again.

"Come here." Nathan smiled and she moved forwards and hugged him happily as he wrapped one arm around her. She pulled back and Nathan stepped forwards to shake Horatio's hand and then handed the scan back to him. "That is wonderful news, I can see that you're both thrilled with it." Nathan smiled and they nodded.

"What's it like having a twin Nathan?" Zoë asked as she stepped back towards Horatio as Nathan popped a mint into his mouth.

"There's definitely a special bond between Matt and I, we even had our own secret twin language when we were children apparently. We are identical twins though so some people argue that identical twins have an extra special bond, but I believe that any twins identical or not will always have that bond between each other." Nathan smiled and Zoë nodded with a gleaming grin.

"I'm so excited!" She said as she looked at Horatio. Nathan looked from Zoë to Horatio and then back and could see the grins on their faces.

"I'd love to stay and chat about it, but I really should be heading back in to get on with a few things." Nathan said softly.

"Sure thing sweetie, thank you!" She smiled and then hugged him again. Horatio and Zoë then walked away together after Nathan walked away himself.

"Twins!" She squealed as she got into the car. "You tell Eric, I'm telling Joe." She smiled and he chuckled with a smile and then kissed the back of her hand once he was in the car. "Does this mean I can get away with eating more?" She questioned and Horatio nodded with a smile and light chuckle. "Excellent!" She grinned and Horatio chuckled more as he pulled off.

"Are you up for a quick stop off at the supermarket? We're running low on salad and fruit." He said softly and she nodded with a wide smile.

"We also need some more juice." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded.

They returned home and put the food away and then Horatio left for work in the BMW after making Zoë promise him that she felt okay and that she'd call if she needed to. Zoë took a very quick shower and put a new top on and then hopped into the Porsche and drove over to Joe's. She pulled up on his drive and then let herself in with the key Joe had given her.

"Hey." Zoë said as she walked through to the kitchen with a beaming smile.

"Hey darling, how are you? Are you okay? You said you might be late as you were heading to the hospital this morning." He asked softly as he gently hugged her.

"We only went because Val wanted to check my blood pressure and it turned out to be incredible! I'm so glad I did go. I'm glad I passed out this morning and had a nose bleed!" She squealed and he mildly frowned and gestured for her to go on as he got the orange juice from the fridge and poured her a glass. She could see that he was confused and she couldn't wait any longer. "Horatio and I are having twins!" She grinned and Joe's eyes widened as he turned back round to her.

"Twins?" He questioned looking a little shocked and she nodded with a bright smile.

"We found out today! I can't believe we're going to have two babies! Look, I'm bigger than I would be if I only had one baby in me!" She said as she pulled her top up and pointed down to her stomach. "We've been saying for the past couple of weeks that I am much bigger than I was with Maya! Neither of us thought that I was carrying twins!" She grinned and Joe's expression grew into a brilliant smile as he looked back up at her and into her happy eyes.

"Are they identical?" Joe asked and Zoë shook her head and dropped her top.

"So they could be one of each gender!" She grinned as she picked up the glass before putting it back down again when he gently hugged her again.

"That's fantastic Zoë, congratulations again!" Joe smiled and then kissed her forehead.

"I wanted two babies before I was 30, but that wouldn't have ever happened because I'm 28 now… it's a dream come true!" She grinned up at him as she lifted the glass again.

"What about Horatio? Is he okay with knowing you're having twins?" Joe asked and she nodded.

"He's ecstatic too!" She beamed and Joe nodded with his smile widening again.

"I'm really very happy for the both of you." He grinned.

"Thank you Bunny, I really appreciate it! You just need to have children now and our children can get married!" She grinned and Joe chuckled as he shook his head playfully.

"Hmm…" He murmured with a smile while she sipped the orange juice.

"I will find you a hottie, don't you worry about it." She smiled at him and he chuckled.

"When are you going to start to get baby stuff then?" Joe asked softly as he sipped his drink.

"Probably around 20 weeks, I don't want to get stuff too early on in the pregnancy. It'll scare me." She said softly and he tilted his head with a mild frown as he placed his glass back down.

"Scare you? Are you sure you're ready for this?" He asked softly and warmly.

"Yeah, I'm really ready… I don't mean it'll scare me in that way. I mean that it'll make me feel like I'm jinxing something and that something will go wrong if we get the baby things too soon. That's what I'm afraid of." Zoë said softly and Joe nodded in understanding as he relaxed himself.

"I see, okay darling, Uncle Joey won't be buying the babies anything yet then." He smiled and Zoë chuckled as she bit her lip.

"They're going to be so spoilt… I've already told Horatio to tell me off if I do spoil them too much." She smiled shyly.

"I think you'll do just fine, it'll be me that will spoil them too much… you'll be shouting at me, I know you will." He grinned and she chuckled again as she knew it was probably going to be true.

"I can't believe I'm having twins, Joe!" She said as she looked at her orange juice with a wide dreamy smile. She then looked up at him with the same dreamy smile as she placed both of her hands around the glass of orange juice. "I really hope they have Horatio's eyes." She said before she bit her lip and imagined Horatio's beautiful eyes again.

"I can't really say, I've not gazed into Horatio's eyes… but you do have beautiful eyes. You know you do." He said softly and she smiled shyly as she looked back down to the orange.

"Yeah, but I'd like to look into my children's eyes and see his eyes in them." She said softly and then bit her lip again as she looked up at him.

"Alright, too lovey for me… you know I don't do that sort of thing." He smiled as he put his mug in the sink with a casual smile.

"Actually you do do that sort of thing, you and I both know that." She said softly as she raised her eyebrows and he chuckled as he turned back to her.

"Very rarely then" he said softly and Zoë smiled and finished her glass then handed it to Joe.

"We're going in the Porsche." She said softly and he nodded as he put her glass in the sink and turned back to her.

"Let me guess, safer car?" Joe asked and she nodded with a natural smile.

"Safer driver too." She smiled cheekily as she pulled her keys from her handbag and stepped back and walked out with him.

"Cheeky driver you mean." He said as he closed his front door and then got into the passenger seat.

"I am a safe driver when you're in the car. I only push the speed limits when I'm on my own." Joe said as he pulled his seatbelt on it and looked over to her.

"You shouldn't be telling me that." She smiled at him with a light chuckle.

"You drive like a crazy woman sometimes though." He said as he looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

"I've had training to drive like a crazy woman, you haven't." She said softly and he chuckled as they pulled off the drive.

"Alright, I'm the perfect citizen, I don't do anything illegal like that." He said softly and she chuckled.

XXXXXXXX

"How'd it go this morning, H? I didn't expect you to be in as you mentioned that Zoë was unwell." Eric questioned as Horatio approached him in one of the labs alone.

"Very well, thank you Eric. Zoë's feeling much better." Horatio said as he smiled down at the desk.

"I'm glad to hear it!" Eric replied as he picked up on Horatio's obvious thrill. "Are you going to tell me what went so well?" He asked as he wanted to know what Horatio's wide smile was about.

"Zoë and I are… we're having twins." Horatio said quietly as he turned on the spot so his left shoulder faced Eric while he glanced at him to see his initial reaction. Eric's smile began to widen as he looked at Horatio. Horatio looked back down with pure bliss nearly bursting from the seams.

"Congratulations H, that's fantastic! I'm so happy for you." Eric replied quietly as he looked at Horatio while Horatio began to nod.

"Thank you brother," he replied as he glanced back up to Eric.

"Are they identical? Do you know that yet?" Eric questioned.

"They're non-identical, so it is entirely possible to have a baby of each gender." Horatio said as he looked back to the floor with a very wide smile.

"Wow, I really am so happy for you both. Send Zoë my congratulations too, please." Eric said warmly and Horatio nodded.

"Will do, thank you, Eric." Horatio replied and then turned as a Natalia walked in with Walter following. Horatio gave Eric a quick secret smile before he looked to the floor and walked out.

"What's got him in such a happy mood?" Walter questioned with a smile and Eric shrugged as he looked back down to the desk.

XXXXXXXX

Wednesday of week 10 arrived and Horatio had brought Zoë up a ginger tea up along with a few ginger biscuits.

"Thank you kitten, could I be a pain and ask you to grab me a banana as well please?" She smiled as she slowly sat up in bed. He nodded and then walked out to return with a banana and lifted her legs and sat under them as he began to massage her legs and feet.

"Do you want a blow job?" She questioned before she ate the banana and he shook his head with a slightly amused smile. '_Another random question?'_ He thought to himself.

"Thank you sweetheart, but I'm good." He said softly as he lightly rubbed her legs.

"Are you sure? I know we've not had sex for a couple of weeks now… I don't want you to be missing out on it just because I don't really want intercourse for a few reasons." She said softly before she took a bite of the banana.

"I'm really fine, sweetheart, you don't have to worry about that. I understand. If you're anything like you were last time, we'll make up for the lack of sex during this trimester during your second trimester." He smiled cheekily with a boyish grin and she began to giggle once she'd swallowed.

"That's so true!" She grinned. "I can't wait for my 2nd trimester, pregnancy gets so much easier." She said softly as she finished the banana and Horatio nodded.

"How are we for bananas?" She asked softly.

"Low, we'll get more today though." Horatio said softly and she nodded.

"I want to come in for a bit to the lab, I miss Eric and Alexx… I even miss Walter believe it or not." She smiled and Horatio chuckled.

"Alexx will probably pick up on the baby belly… you know that, don't you?" He asked softly as he smiled up at her.

"She won't." Zoë said softly as she shook her head and smiled at him.

"She will, especially if you hug her." Horatio said softly with raised eyebrows and a gentle smile.

"Oh well; I don't mind Alexx knowing if you don't mind." She said softly and Horatio nodded.

"That's fine sweetheart." Horatio said softly and Zoë smiled brightly and then lightly rubbed her abdomen.

"Right, I'm wearing black and something loose today so Walter, Natalia and the lab techs don't suspect a thing." She said as she got up and walked into the en-suite to shower.

"Look at my belly, there could be two of you in there, or two of me, or one of each of us!" She grinned as she walked back out and dropped the towel from herself and he grinned back. He felt a warmth move through him each time he looked down at her abdomen and each time he thought about her being pregnant. She pulled on her underwear and turned to him with a gentle smile. "Am I big enough for twins, Horatio?" She asked softly as she put her bra on and bit her lip.

"Yes, you're big enough Zoë." Horatio chuckled softly. Once dressed they quickly went shopping and returned home about an hour later and put the shopping away together. They got into the Porsche together and drove over to the lab. She took his hand as they began to walk over to the entrance after they'd parked up.

"Can you see my belly?" Zoë asked as they walked in and Horatio shook his head with a smile.

"As long as you keep the jacket on, you'll be fine sweetheart." Horatio said softly and she nodded as they walked into the building.

"Are you going to come down to see Alexx with me after we've seen Eric?" She asked softly and Horatio nodded. They walked in and met Eric in the hall.

"Hey sweetie! How are you?" She grinned as she hugged him.

"Good thank you Zoë, how about you and the babies?" He asked quietly as they pulled back from the hug.

"We're great thank you!" She beamed and Eric nodded with a smile. "I'd show you how big I am already, but we're not in private." She said softly and he chuckled with a nod. "How are you coping without me?" She smiled as she placed her hands on her hips.

"It's difficult, I tell you that now. I hadn't realised just how much you make things run so smoothly or quickly. Cases are taking forever." He said and she chuckled and grinned up at him.

"I had a feeling you'd fall apart without me, this lab needs a woman to help keep it organised, I tell you. Natalia's a good CSI, so you shouldn't be struggling that much anyway." She smiled and both Horatio and Eric chuckled lightly, they both knew Zoë made it easier.

"Hurry up and have them so we can have you back." Eric smiled cheekily and she giggled lightly.

"I won't be coming straight back to work sweetie, I'm going to be off for a good few months after. Actually, I'm not even sure I'll be returning at all. If you're struggling too much, then send me something over, I can research and stuff at home, anything that doesn't involve direct contact with evidence and such, you know. I've got so much free time on my hands now, I just don't know what to do with myself." She smiled and Eric nodded and took her offer into consideration.

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind." Eric said softly.

"Anyway, we're off to see Alexx, we'll be back up in a moment." She smiled and he nodded. Horatio and Zoë then walked down to autopsy hand in hand, both of them were grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Alexx looked round as the door opened and saw Zoë with Horatio. Her eyes lit up as she looked at their smiles.

"Zoë, baby girl! I've not seen you in ages, the boys were saying you quit and everything. How have you been?" Alexx asked as she snapped her gloves off and Zoë gave her a smile.

"Yeah, I quit… long story Alexx." She said softly and Alexx hugged Zoë warmly. She then then withdrew and lowered her eyebrows as she looked to Zoë.

"What?" Zoë asked softly with a sweet smile as she looked up at Alexx. '_She's picked up on it already. Horatio was right.'_ Zoë thought to herself as she placed a hand on her hip.

"Nothing honey." Alexx said softly with a natural smile.

"No, tell me." Zoë said softly as she raised her eyebrows.

"I just thought… it was probably me, don't worry about it baby." Alexx said softly. '_If I say she felt like she was pregnant I could really upset her.'_ Alexx thought to himself and Zoë saw the hesitance in Alexx's eyes. Zoë smiled at her and then looked down as she bit her lip, unable to hide the brilliant smile. She then gripped the bottom of her top and pulled it up and placed her hand over her abdomen which caused Alexx to look down too and she saw Zoë's baby belly.

"Did you feel that?" Zoë asked with a wide smile and Alexx's mouth fell open as she looked back up at Zoë. She was rendered speechless for a moment as she looked to Horatio from Zoë and he nodded at her with a nod and smile before she looked back to Zoë.

"Oh my gosh, Zoë! Congratulations baby girl, congratulations Horatio!" She grinned and then hugged Zoë again once she'd dropped the top. She then hugged Horatio, and once she broke from that hug she placed her hand over Zoë's stomach and looked up at Zoë while Zoë and Horatio smiled blissfully at her.

"How long have you known?" Alexx asked as she lightly rubbed Zoë's stomach.

"About 4 weeks now, we wanted to keep it quiet though, but it's getting harder to conceal as you can probably tell." Zoë said softly as Alexx's smile grew.

"How many weeks are you? 16?" Alexx asked as she looked up at the both of them.

"No, only 10 weeks." Zoë said softly with a smile as she placed her hand back over her stomach.

"10?" Alexx asked a little surprised and both Horatio and Zoë nodded as Horatio stepped closer to Zoë and lightly rubbed her lower back.

"We're having twins." Horatio replied with his charming smile and Alexx's mouth fell open again as she looked at the both of them even more thrilled. Zoë could see Alexx's excitement beaming through her smile.

"Oh my gosh, that is fantastic!" Alexx beamed herself and Zoë nodded. "Who else knows?" Alexx questioned as she placed her hand back over Zoë's lower abdomen and felt her larger belly.

"Joe and Eric, Joe found out about 4 weeks ago, Eric about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Could you keep it to yourself please? You can tell your husband if you wish, but please keep it quiet." Zoë asked softly before she bit her lip and lightly furrowed her eyebrows.

"Certainly baby. I'm so happy for you both." Zless smiled and Zoë bit her lip more.

"Thank you." Zoë said softly as she took a step back and rubbed her stomach. "Please excuse me a second." Zoë said as she rushed out.

"Is she getting morning sickness?" Alexx asked and Horatio nodded as he took a deep breath.

"It's quite bad and it can last the full day, not just the morning, but we've found that ginger tea helps when she first wakes up." Horatio said softly and Alexx nodded as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Have you tried grinding ginger onto salad for lunch or something?" Alexx asked and Horatio shook his head, but his eyes lit up a little more.

"That's a good idea though. Thank you Alexx." Horatio said softly and she smiled at him with a nod. "I'll be right back." Horatio said softly and Alexx nodded and then watched him rush out after Zoe. He returned with Zoë a few minutes later. Alexx seemed just as happy as she did when they had left.

"I was just telling Horatio that ground ginger on salad works a treat." Alexx said softly as he placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head.

"We'll give it a go, thank you Alexx. Have you got any other tips?" Zoë asked as she rubbed her stomach after putting a mint in her mouth.

"Avoiding spicy and fatty foods is the main one. You might find that a small amount of chocolate in the morning with your ginger tea might help, it helped me. The smell of fresh lemons also helped me, you might be the same. But different smells can help, so try anything. I've heard fresh rosemary helps, give that a go. I don't think I got it as bad as you though. You need to rest baby, you're looking a little tired, so I suggest that you get more rest." Alexx said softly and Zoë nodded appreciatively.

"Thank you, I'll definitely give those a go." She said softly.

"Who's keeping an eye on you and the babies?" Alexx asked softly and curiously.

"I have a midwife called Val, Nathan introduced us and I'm getting better with her. She is a lovely woman. I'll see her again in 8 weeks for my 18th week scan. But I'm keeping Nathan in the loop and I know that if I need him, he's there." Zoë said warmly and Alexx nodded with a smile.

"I'm here as well baby, if you have any problems or worries, I'm very happy to talk with you or even check you over if you're too tired to head over to the hospital. I'm sure you know that Val is also able to come and visit you at home too though." Alexx said warmly.

"Thank you Alexx, we really do appreciate that." Zoë said warmly as Horatio began to rub her back again delicately.

"Have you seen your cardiologist recently? Does he know about the pregnancy?" Alexx asked as she tilted her head.

"We've spoken on the phone, I've got an appointment with him in a couple of weeks. He said that he'll probably see me a couple of times during the pregnancy just to keep an eye on things." Zoë replied and Alexx nodded with a genuine smile.

"Everything looks good at the moment though, my heart rate has increased a little, I rang Val the other day to let her know and she said that it's normal and nothing to worry about." Zoë said softly and Alexx nodded.

"Good, I'm glad you're being very well looked after. How are you after that van crash? Eric said you were in a bad way. I haven't spoken to you because I thought you needed your space as you quit soon after it. I mean, Horatio has kept us informed and has been saying that you're well and all of that, but it's not the same as hearing you say it." Alexx said softly as she tilted her head.

"I'm good, yeah, at the time we thought I had lost the baby as blood seemed to be coming from down there, but we later found out that it was a piece of metal that had lodged itself in my upper inner thigh, quite close to the important areas. But it was nothing serious and Nathan whipped it out of there in no-time." She said softly and Alexx nodded as she pressed her lips together and mildly frowned.

"Oh honey, I can't imagine how you both felt." Alexx said softly as she gave them both a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, well it's over now and I have two healthy babies inside me now." Zoë said softly with a smile and Alexx nodded with another smile forming as Zoë had brought her mood back up. "I've got some questions and stuff that Nathan can't really answer as he's never been pregnant and well… because he's not a woman, is it okay if I talk to you one evening? I'd much rather talk to you about it than Val…" Zoë asked shyly as she furrowed her eyebrows again and looked up at Alexx as she played with her hands. "I mean, you don't have to, but I'm not sure who else I can get advice from or anything as I'm not close with Val yet and I don't feel too comfortable with her still, certainly not as comfortable with her as I am with you. I don't know anyone who's been through it before and my mother isn't here to give advice and things." Zoë said quietly as she looked down and fiddled with her hands a little more as she took a deep breath.

'_Aw, bless her.'_ Alexx thought to herself when she felt a little bit of heart ache for Zoë as she reached out and placed her hand on Zoë's upper arm with a cheerful and touched smile as Zoë looked back up at her. "Of course baby girl, a catch up would be good too. You can ask me anything you like." Alexx said softly and Zoë nodded with a forming smile as she raised her eyebrows. Her smile burst back to life as she looked at Alexx relieved and joyfully at the same time.

"Thank you Alexx, I should be off, I've got to meet Joe for lunch, see you soon, I'll call you." Zoë smiled as she moved forwards and hugged Alexx once again.

"See you soon baby girl, congratulations, I'll keep my mouth shut too." Alexx said with a smile as she looked at Horatio with a pleased smile and then pulled from the hug with Horatio.

"Thank you." Zoë said warmly as she stepped back.

"See you later Horatio." Alexx said softly with a nod and friendly smile.

"See you later Alexx." Horatio replied and then walked out as he rubbed Zoë's back. They walked back up and spoke with Eric for a few minutes and Walter came over.

"Hey Zoë, how are you doing?" Walter asked with a wide smile.

"I'm doing really well thank you, I hear the same can't be said for you though." She smiled and Walter chuckled.

"Ah, Eric's filled you in. We need you back ASAP, please." Walter asked and Zoë smiled.

"Sorry Walter." She said as she shook her head and shrugged lightly.

"I'm happy to help where I can though." She said softly and Walter nodded.

"That's good to know." Walter said softly and Zoë nodded with a smile.

"I've got to go, I'll see you guys sometime soon, I'll see you later Ki… Horatio." She said softly and he smiled at her, slightly relieved that she didn't say kitten. Zoë glanced down a little embarrassed herself before she looked back up at Eric and Walter and saw a smug grin on Walter's face.

"What were you going to call Horatio?" Walter questioned with a grin.

"A nickname if you must know, but it's not for your ears. Have I taught you nothing about not questioning me about personal things? If you ask personal things, I will give you personal things." She said as she raised her eyebrow and placed her hands on her waist.

"I forget." Walter shrugged with a gentle smile.

"You shouldn't ask such personal questions, you wouldn't ask me for a picture of every period I get, would you? Because that's personal, so why you have to ask about other personal things is beyond me." Zoë said as she lowered her eyebrows and felt herself becoming frustrated.

"Okay sweetheart, I'll walk you out." Horatio said softly and she looked up at him and took a deep breath, she knew she was getting wound up again. She took another deep breath and nodded with a sweet smile appearing as she looked over to Horatio.

"See you both later." She said softly as she turned with Horatio and walked away quickly before she turned and blew up at Walter again.

"She doesn't even work here anymore and you manage to piss her off, well done." Eric said sarcastically as he looked to Walter and then split from him and went into a different lab. Walter stood there a little astonished at how quickly a simple thing escalated.

"I'll see you later handsome, don't worry about me, I'm meeting Adam and Joe for lunch and a catch up. Joe is outside now actually." She smiled sweetly and Horatio nodded with a gentle smile.

"Okay sweetheart, give me a ring if you need anything." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she reached up and placed her hand behind his head and pulled him down.

"Will do handsome, I love you, all 3 of us love you." She said before she kissed him passionately.

"I love you too, all 3 of you." He smiled sweetly and she smiled back and then kissed him again before she backed off and got into the car with Joe.

"Hi Horatio!" Joe called brightly.

"Hi Joe, send my regards to Adam please." Horatio said warmly and Joe nodded.

"Will do." Horatio replied with a gentle smile as he closed Zoë's door for her.

"I'll see you later. I love you so much." She said as she put her seatbelt on and smiled at him. She blew him a kiss as Joe pulled off after briefly saying bye to Horatio. Horatio smiled to himself and then walked in.

XXXXXXXX

Monday evening of Zoë's 12 week came around and they both sat in bed with a hot drink with the news on in the background. Zoe held her mug in her left hand while she had pulled up her top to reveal her slightly larger baby belly. She lightly rubbed her stomach as they both watched the news and had a casual conversation before the pregnancy was brought up again.

"We should tell people now, there is no way I can hide this." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded as he looked over to her and down at her abdomen.

"Do you want to come in tomorrow and we can tell them?" Horatio asked and she nodded with a smile as they both finished their hot drinks and then slunk down into bed after turning the TV off.

"I can't believe I'm this big at 12 weeks, Horatio, I was this big at 17 weeks with Maya." She said as she looked at him and wrapped her arms around him and moved closer.

"There are two babies in your tummy, Zoë, you're going to be bigger." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, but I'm worried that I'll get too big." She said as she looked at Horatio with a sweet expression as she began to lightly rub his chest.

"You don't need to worry about that sweetheart." Horatio assured her with a smile.

"I'm going to get uncomfortable soon, I can already feel them pushing organs out of the way." She said as she looked at Horatio with a warm smile in the dim light.

"You're just coming into your 2nd trimester, it might be better than you think sweetheart." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she ran her fingertips up the middle of his chest.

"I guess you're right, I think the tiredness and sickness is just getting to me handsome, I'm sorry." She said softly as she sighed and Horatio nodded while she placed a delicate kiss on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it sweetheart, we'll get there, there's going to be good times and bad times ahead, but we'll get through both of them together, okay?" Horatio said softly and she nodded and lifted her head to kiss him lightly. She then placed her head back down on his pillow as she contentedly exhaled.

"I guess it's good that my breasts no longer hurt as much, so I guess that's a bonus." She smiled sweetly and Horatio nodded with a smile as he wrapped both warms around her and placed a light kiss on her forehead. "Are you having dreams, Horatio? The book says that the expectant father also often has weird dreams too." Zoë asked softly as she looked into his light blue eyes whilst her fingertips danced through his chest hair.

"Yes, I am sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he ran his fingertip up and down his spine.

"Tell me about them? You get to hear all about my weird dreams and the sex dreams." She said softly before she bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Erm, I seem to be dreaming about my mother quite often, I've never really dreamed about her, I used to after she died, but nothing recently. Ray has also come into my dreams quite often, that's not happened for a long time either." Horatio said softly.

"The book says that's quite often the case, apparently that means that you're looking at your family roots." She smiled softly and he nodded.

"I'm having a lot of sex dreams about you, more than ever." Horatio said softly and she nodded.

"The books says that's very common too, it also says it's common for fathers to have sex dreams about other people, so if you are having dreams about others, then it's nothing to worry about. The same goes for me, but in my case it's apparently to do with the fear of me losing your love." Zoë said softly as she moved to lay on her back which caused Horatio to move onto his side and snuggle up to her.

"You'll never lose my love, Zoë." Horatio said softly as he nuzzled her shoulder.

"I know Kitten, I've not had a dream like that. So far, all my sex dreams have been about you." Zoë smiled as she moved her left arm and put it down behind Horatio's head and neck to pull him closer. He placed his head down on her chest, just above her breast as he moved his other hand to her stomach where he began to lightly rub her abdomen. "Anymore dreams?" She asked softly as she began to play with his hair with the left hand. '_This is nice, I see why she lays like this so often now.'_ Horatio thought to himself.

"I have dreams where I dream of protecting you all, whether it's protecting you from a can of beans that you've put in the microwave that is about to explode to you crossing the road without looking. The dreams can sometimes be scary, but in the end I always keep you safe. But the weirdest dream I've had was I had dreamt of being pregnant myself, I also gave birth in the dream. That was weird…" Horatio said softly and he watched the smile appear across her face as he looked up at her.

"That's the protective and nurturing instinct taking over and the dream about you being pregnant is telling you that you want to be able to help me through, you want to share what I'm going through. That's really cute Horatio." She grinned and he smiled shyly. "I've read the entire book already, I've got so much time on my hands." She smiled as she lightly moved her fingertips through his floppy hair. But then she sensed something. "There's something else that you're not telling me, a nightmare perhaps?" She asked softly as she bit her lip. Horatio exhaled and knew that she would have got it out of him sooner or later.

"I'm worried about seeing you in so much pain, Zoë. I dreamt about the birth, you were in excruciating pain and I couldn't do anything to help you." Horatio said softly as he continued to lightly rub her stomach.

"Aww Kitten, it's not going to be nice for either of us, but it'll be worth is when we have our babies in our arms. Childbirth isn't easy, we knew that. We'll get each other through it, it will be a magical time though Horatio. It's natural to worry about things like that." She said softly and he nodded and then lifted his head to smile at her gently. He then placed a light kiss on her lips before he reached up and turned the wall lamps off.

"Just because I'm the one that's pregnant doesn't mean that you're not important at all, I know that you're always looking out for me rather than yourself and now things have to change. I'm telling you now that you are not pushing yourself into the ground to make sure I'm okay, you are equally as important and I will tell you that every hour of the day if it gets the message into your head. You have to look out for yourself too and that means sharing any worrying thoughts with me, like I do with you. Believe me, it's nothing to be ashamed of, this is going to change our lives for the better and I can't wait. You and our babies are the most important things in my life and I want you to start making yourself number one in your head. I know I'm not brilliant at reading your feelings at times, so I need your help to help you." She said quietly, but he could tell that it was a heart-felt admission and he knew that it was true.

"I know sweetheart." He said warmly as he began to nuzzle her nose with his.

"Goodnight handsome." She said softly and kissed him again.

"Goodnight beautiful." He replied as he kissed her lightly.

"I'm going to turn onto my side, okay?" She said and then turned onto her left side. Horatio then wrapped his arm around her and moved closer to her so his stomach and chest were touching her back. He stroked her stomach as she fell asleep and was then taken into sweet slumber himself.

XXXXXXXX

They both drove into work the next day and Horatio called everyone into one of the labs. Zoë and Horatio stood before everyone, hand in hand. Horatio mainly looked at the floor as he usually would while Zoë smiled up at everyone brightly.

"As you all know, I no longer work here, but my leave hasn't been entirely to do with that argument with IAB. I left because I'm pregnant and they wanted to put me and our babies lives in danger and neither of us were going to accept that." Zoë said softly and she then watched the smiles appear across her colleagues faces. She glanced down when she felt the warm feeling rising again. She looked back up at them with a brilliant smile. "I am 12 weeks pregnant with twins." She added with a smile and then listened to the congratulations as she took hold of Horatio's arm and hand. He looked up at his colleagues with his joyous smile before they both received hugs and handshakes from the lab techs and officers that had gathered. There was no doubt that the entire police force would know by sun down. Walter walked up to them with a bright smile.

"I thought you were pregnant but Eric said you weren't like 5 weeks ago. It was just a hunch though." Walter said softly.

"I know, we wanted to keep it quiet though and only Eric and Joe knew, we wanted to wait as long as we could, but I'm now this big and it's getting harder to hide." She said softly as she lightly ran her hand over her abdomen and felt the cotton of her top and Walter nodded with a genuine smile.

"Congratulations, Zoë. I'm really happy for you both." Walter said warmly.

"Thank you sweetie." She said as she wrapped her arms around him. Walter then turned to Horatio and shook his hand.

"Congratulations H, you had better watch out if you have two girls, you might have two more Zoë's on your hands." Walter grinned cheekily and Horatio lightly chuckled as he glanced down with a wide smile.

"Hey, you cheeky sod." Zoë grinned with a giggle as she looked up at Walter.

"I'm joking really, take care, all of you." Walter said warmly before he walked away to get back on with what he was doing.

"Congratulations Zoë, I hope everything goes really well." Natalia said softly and Zoe gave her a sweet smile and nod.

"Thank you Nat, we really appreciate it." She said softly as she stepped forwards and gave her a gentle hug. Natalia then gave her a nod and a smile before he looked to Horatio with a genuine smile.

"Congratulations, H." She said happily as she shook his hand, she was uncertain if a hug with Horatio was appropriate, she didn't feel all that comfortable as in her eyes, Horatio only ever hugged Zoë, or rarely Alexx.

"Thank you Natalia." Horatio replied warmly before she walked away with a smile. _'Thank God she didn't ask or wonder about Maya… I'm worried now that someone will slip up and mention something. I don't want her to find out at all.'_ Zoë thought as she took a deep breath and turned to Horatio with a bright smile as she picked herself back up again and thought about everything good. The lab had emptied and it was just the both of them.

"Now I've just got to ring Kaitlin." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded with his secret smile plastered all over his face.

"Are you home for the day?" Horatio asked and Zoë nodded as she stepped forwards and placed both hands flat on the lapels of his jacket as she looked up and into his bright eyes.

"I think Joe's coming over briefly though." She said softly and Horatio nodded and pulled her closer.

"Okay sweetheart, I'll see you later." He said softly and she nodded with a smile. They lightly kissed before Horatio released her and watched her walk out. She drove home to ring Kaitlin and tell her of the news.

The End

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Next story is called "Told You So".**


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